FAQ Series: Can I Move With My Child?
- Hampton Law Firm ⚖️
- May 18
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 1
If you don’t feel like reading…here’s the short version with my smiling face for a dose of positivity. 😍
Moving can be necessary.
People move for jobs, family support, safety, housing, school, remarriage, medical care, military obligations, or simply because life changes. But when a child has another parent with custody or visitation rights, moving is not just a personal decision. It may also be a legal one.
This is one of those situations where a parent may think, “I am the one who takes care of the child. I should be able to move.” But Louisiana law may still require notice, consent, or court approval depending on the distance, location, custody order, and facts.
Louisiana has specific laws on relocating a child’s principal residence. In general, the relocation law may apply when a parent intends to move the child out of state, or when the move is within Louisiana but more than seventy-five miles under the circumstances described in the statute. The rules can apply differently depending on whether there is a custody order, whether the child’s principal residence has been designated, and whether the parents have equal physical custody.
If the relocation rules apply, the parent proposing the move generally must give formal notice to the other parent or other person entitled to notice. That notice usually must be sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or by commercial courier, no later than sixty days before the proposed relocation when possible.
The notice must include important information, including the current mailing address, the intended new residence if known, the proposed relocation date, the reasons for the move, and a proposed revised custody or visitation schedule.
The other parent may have the right to object. In many cases, the objection must be made within thirty days after receipt of the notice. If there is a proper objection, the parent proposing relocation may need court approval before moving the child.
And if the parents have equal physical custody under a court decree, the relocating parent may need either express written consent from the other parent or court authorization after a hearing before relocating.
This is not an area where parents should guess.
Moving without following the proper process can hurt your custody case. Louisiana law provides that relocating without prior notice when there is a custody order, or relocating in violation of a court order, may constitute a change in circumstances that can support a custody modification. Even a move that does not meet the statutory relocation threshold may still matter in a custody case if it changes the child’s principal residence or affects the other parent’s custodial rights.
The practical answer is this: before you move with your child, check your custody order and talk to a lawyer.
Do not rely on what your friend did.
Do not rely on what the other parent “probably won’t care about.”
Do not move first and hope to explain later.
A move may be completely reasonable. It may even be best for the child.
But it still needs to be handled the right way.
Judith L. Hampton
Attorney At Law
Hampton Law Firm
Comments