Moving to a new city is an ordinary life event for most people. For a divorced or separated parent in Florida, it can be a legal matter that requires a judge's permission. Anyone searching for a parent relocation lawyer in West Palm Beach is usually facing a job offer, a new relationship, or family circumstances that pull them away from Palm Beach County, with a time-sharing arrangement standing in the way.
Florida sets a clear trigger. If a parent wants to move more than fifty miles from their current home for at least sixty consecutive days, and a time-sharing arrangement already exists, the move counts as a relocation under the statute. Below that distance, the ordinary rules apply. At or beyond it, the parent must either obtain the other parent's written agreement or ask the court.
Brodzki Jacobs handles relocation cases on both sides, for the parent who wants to move and the parent objecting to it. These are among the more contested matters in family law, because the outcome reshapes how often a child sees each parent.
A judge deciding a relocation petition starts from the best interest of the child, the same standard that governs time-sharing generally, and then applies factors specific to moving. The court looks at the reason for the move and the reason for any objection, the child's relationship with each parent, the likely effect on the child's development, and whether the relocation will improve the family's circumstances. A parent who frames the request around a concrete benefit to the child, rather than personal convenience alone, tends to fare better. A child relocation attorney in West Palm Beach builds the petition or the objection around those factors, because a judge cannot rule on what is never put in front of the court.
Relocation cases reward parents who plan ahead and punish those who move first and ask later. A parent who relocates a child without agreement or a court order can be ordered to bring the child back, and the unauthorized move counts against them afterward. Brodzki Jacobs helps West Palm Beach parents handle relocation the right way, whether that means preparing a petition or contesting one, before anyone makes a decision that is hard to undo. Call 954-932-8300 to talk through the timeline.
