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Relocation has become increasingly common among families in recent years, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the rise of remote work, shifting economic conditions, and a growing number of divorces, many people are rethinking where they want to live. As a result, more parents are exploring moves that better suit their financial and personal needs. However, for divorced or separated parents, these decisions come with legal complications. Texas child custody relocation laws play a major role in determining whether a parent can relocate with a child, making it essential to understand the legal requirements before making a move.
What Texas parents should know about relocation and custody decisions
What you, as a parent, need to keep in mind is that the State of Texas wants to encourage parents and children to have long-lasting and meaningful contact with one another. Once a divorce occurs the State encourages parents to work together on issues related to their children despite the divorce. All of this leads to situations where family courts do not outright discourage relocation, but certainly do not want to put families in a position where one parent is unable to build a relationship with their child.
A court considers, first and foremost, the best interests of your child when making relocation decisions. For example, at the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, we have experienced many questions in recent years about relocation from the perspective of a job change. Can you move to Austin or San Antonio for a better-paying job if your child’s father lives in Houston? Can you modify your existing child custody orders to lift a geographic restriction that keeps you in Harris County?
Why relocation cases in Texas require strong evidence and clear planning
The court decides if a change is material and substantial by comparing your current situation to the circumstances when it issued the original orders. It won’t approve a modification unless the change clearly affects your child’s best interests. A new job in Austin, for example, may not qualify unless it significantly impacts your child’s well-being.
Relocation cases after a divorce case are among the most fact-specific in the world of Texas family law. You must be thoroughly prepared to take a relocation case to trial because there’s no middle ground in these situations. Either you can move to Austin to take the job, for example, or you cannot and must remain in Houston. It’s not like moving to Giddings will accomplish anything for you, your co-parent, or your child. Rather, you need to either make the move or stay where you are. When the situation is as cut and dry as that, having an experienced attorney argue those points and prepare your case is essential.
In today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, we are going to walk you through what a relocation case looks like from the perspective of a family law attorney. You will be able to see how the issues matter in a case like this and what you can do to prepare on your own and with your attorney to either keep your child near you or possibly lift a geographic restriction in favor of being able to leave the area. We serve clients from all over southeast Texas, and we would be honored to do the same for you and your family.
Practical considerations in Texas child custody relocation cases
When our office represents a client facing relocation, the case becomes more challenging if both parents actively participate in the child’s life. Asking a judge to lift a geographic restriction is already difficult, but the challenge grows when the other parent—such as a devoted and involved father—has maintained a strong presence and done nothing to justify losing regular access to their child. I think even the most driven parent would agree with this assessment. Children form bonds with parents, and to sever that bond or at least cause it to fray can be a sad situation, no matter the reason for the move.
Sometimes the move is necessitated by circumstances beyond anyone’s control. Consider what you would do if your child were to need medical treatment that required a move to a different city. I know this is hard to believe, considering you most likely live in the Houston area, but suppose that you were needing to ask a Texas court for permission to move to Houston to avail yourself and your family of medical care in our city. In that case, you can demonstrate to the court that your relocation request stems from a genuine medical need—not from spite toward your co-parent. Your child’s health depends on being able to see this doctor regularly. Therefore, making a best-interest argument on these grounds would seem to be more straightforward.
Why personal reasons alone may not justify relocation in Texas custody cases
This is as opposed to an argument where you are asking to move for you to be closer to family or a job offer. Taken by themselves, either of these reasons is a good reason to move. I have moved for both reasons in my personal life. I’m sure many of you reading this blog post have, as well. However, they are not “must” move situations. The jobs argument is particularly tough in an area like southeast Texas, where we seemingly always have numerous jobs available in a variety of areas. The family argument is another one that may fall on deaf ears, as you would be asking a court to allow you to move to a new place while at the same time.
In either situation, if the court grants the relocation, your co-parent loses regular access to your child. The move would make it nearly impossible for your co-parent to exercise conservatorship rights and duties effectively, as distance would limit meaningful time and involvement in your child’s life. This would certainly seem to fly in the face of the state’s motivation to encourage strong bonds between children and parents after a divorce.
Why courts ask if your relocation is a true need or just a personal want
When you tell an attorney you want to file a modification case to move, the first question we’ll ask is whether you truly need to move or simply want to. There is a difference, of course. Needing to move to be closer to a doctor who is the only person in the world who can care properly for your child is one thing. Wanting to move because you met a man online and he lives in Austin is another thing altogether.
The difference between these two situations is massive. A court will look at them as being near opposites in terms of motivation and importance. So, you can expect a good and experienced family law attorney to press you on this when you initially speak to him or her. You may quickly find that your need is closer to a want. Generally speaking, in child relocation cases, a want does not meet the burden of a relocation.
Think about it in terms like this: if you have a goal in mind, be it making more money, being closer to family, or starting a relationship, is there any other option available to you other than moving that can accomplish your goal? You should think this through well before filing a relocation case—and ideally before even meeting with an attorney to discuss it.
Why thinking through your relocation goals can save time, money, and conflict
You can save yourself time and money by thinking this issue through intentionally. If you bring this issue up with your co-parent, it can and will cause him or her to become defensive. From their perspective, you are trying to take their son or daughter away from them. Walk a mile in their shoes to see if it is worth bringing up in the first place. You may have options to pursue that are much less dramatic and may require less sacrifice from those around you.
Above all else, you should not move unless you know that it has been approved first by the court. This means that you should review your final decree of divorce to determine if a geographic restriction exists. If there is one, then you need to stop before you run into a situation where you are violating your court orders. This can result in fines and other penalties that you may not have bargained for. Even if there is no geographic restriction in place, it may still be possible that you could be violating your court order by moving.
Depending on where you are moving, you may be making it impossible for your ex-spouse to live up to their end of the bargain as far as the decree is concerned. By moving 100 miles away, you may be making it impossible for him or her to pick your child up for weekend visitation. This would be another example of a situation where you violate the order. The last thing you want is to pick up and move without your ex-spouse’s knowledge and the court’s permission. You may find yourself with some hefty fines levied against you and an order from the court to move right back to town.
Why building strong evidence early can strengthen your relocation case
If after speaking with an experienced family law attorney, you are given positive indications that your relocation case may be successful, it is time for you and your lawyer to begin organizing evidence. This means going through documents to dig up your attempts to find suitable employment in this area, job interviews attended, leads that dried up, school records for your children, medical records showing the need to relocate for care, calendars, and any other documents that you believe are relevant to the case. Provide them all to your attorney along with a timeline of events. You want to make sure that you have provided your lawyer with as much information as possible so that he or she is up to date on the events that have led to your being here today.
As we mentioned earlier, very few relocation cases settle out of court. Unlike other modifications where parents can often compromise, relocation offers little room for middle ground. If you’re trying to move from Houston for a specific reason, the outcome is usually all or nothing—the court either approves the move or denies it. Therefore, there just isn’t much motivation for you and your ex-spouse to try and settle this case. Rather, there is more reason for the two of you to try and see the case through to the end.
Why the judge assigned to your relocation case can shape the outcome
Another factor to consider is the judge to whom your case is assigned. If you work with an experienced family law attorney, he or she can tell you that based on their experiences with the judge, the likelihood of success is. If the same judge who imposed your geographic restriction—and is known for opposing relocations—gets assigned to your case, the outcome may already seem clear. On the other hand, say that the judge who issued your divorce orders is no longer on the bench, and a new judge is on the scene who is more favorable to relocations. This can change the trajectory of your case significantly.
If you are asking the court to approve a relocation, then you are asking your attorney to submit reasons to the court why the relocation is a good idea and to minimize the reasons why the relocation may be a negative for you, your co-parent, as well as your child. Our attorneys can tell you from experience that there are some factors that a court will look at and scrutinize much more closely, which can end up having a huge impact on your case overall. To conclude our blog post today, we are going to walk through those factors and allow you to think about them more in detail as you prepare for a possible relocation case in the future.
When parental disinterest supports a relocation request in Texas custody cases
One of the strongest arguments you can make in a relocation case is that the move won’t significantly harm your child’s emotional development because your co-parent shows little interest in maintaining a relationship. You can support this with family testimony, your child’s input—especially if they’re a teenager—and a documented history of missed visits or non-compliance with possession orders. Missed visitation alone may not justify a modification, but when combined with clear signs of parental disinterest, it becomes a powerful point for the court to consider.
Next, if you are asking a court to approve a relocation attempt, it can be helpful if your co-parent agrees with the modification due to their being able to move shortly after you. For example, if you accept a job in a new city and your co-parent plans to move and take a job there too, this could strongly support your case. A court may view this mutual relocation as a positive factor and be more likely to approve your modification request. This is why coordination with your co-parent is so important. If you can talk to her about your relocation attempt and she can give you some assurance that she would approve of the request if she can find suitable employment in the new location then you may be looking at a completely different set of circumstances on your hands.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the circumstances that you may attempt to highlight in preparing for a relocation case in Texas. The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan appreciate you spending time with us today on our blog, and we hope to be able to have you join us again in the future as we share relevant and entertaining information about the world of Texas family law.
Navigating a move after divorce isn’t just a personal decision—it’s a legal one, too. Understanding Texas child custody relocation laws is essential for any parent considering a change in residence that affects their child’s living situation. These laws ensure that both parents’ rights are respected and that the child’s best interests remain the top priority. By learning the legal steps, seeking proper approvals, and communicating effectively, parents can avoid costly legal battles and protect their relationship with their child.
Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
If you have any questions about the material contained in today’s blog post, please do not hesitate to contactthe LawOffice of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free-of-charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are a great way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law as well as about how your family’s circumstances may be impacted by the filing of a divorce or child custody lawsuit.
Other related articles
- Top Tips for Modifying Custody Orders Due to Relocation in Texas
- Handling Unauthorized Relocation in Texas Child Custody Cases
- Top Reasons a Judge Will Deny Relocation After Divorce
- What Factors to Consider if Relocation Is an Issue in Your Divorce
- A Comprehensive Guide to Relocation and Child Custody Modifications
- What do I do first in my relocation case?
- Relocation for Marriage or Remarriage
- Parental relocation post-divorce
- Relocation for Better Job Opportunities?
- Relocation With a Child Whose Other Parent Has Minimal Visitation
