On the Move After Your Texas Divorce

Are you considering a move after your Texas divorce? Many people have ambitions to relocate immediately or soon after a divorce. These can be reasons related to the divorce or separation. However, the complexities of a move after a divorce become greater when you have children. Additionally, being mindful of the court orders in your case is also important. If you are considering a move after your divorce case, today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan is for you. We will discuss many of the relevant factors regarding moving once your divorce is final.

Geographic restriction in your final decree of divorce

When it comes to children after a divorce you need to be mindful of a possible geographic restriction. A geographic restriction limits where your children can reside after the divorce. The purpose of a geographic limitation is to allow both parents to have a meaningful and consistent relationship with their children. Instead of the possibility that the primary conservator moves consistently with the children, the geographic restriction puts the children in a limited geographic area for their childhood. Not only does this benefit the parent but it also looks after the best interests of your children.

Geographic restrictions are not mandatory after a divorce, but they are common. The non-primary conservator of your children would likely appreciate not having to move constantly to follow the kids. As a result, geographic restrictions are protective of the relationship between the non-primary conservator and the children. Geographic restrictions can be quite broad. For example, the geographic restriction in your case may include your home county and all contiguous counties. Parents will sometimes create restrictive geographic areas that include only a specific school district.

Are you able to move with the geographic restriction in place?

Let’s assume a situation involving you, your ex-husband, and your two small children. You and your ex-husband got divorced two years ago. As part of your divorce settlement, you both agreed to a geographic restriction. That geographic restriction allows you as the primary conservator to set up your residence in Harris or any contiguous county. The family has always lived in the Houston area and as a result, this was a natural geographic restriction to implement.

For the two years after your divorce, this geographic restriction has worked just fine. However, you were recently offered a promotion in your company. That promotion causes you to consider moving to San Antonio for a new job. This is not a remote job. You would have to move to San Antonio to take the new promotion and its increased salary. In your mind that is a great fit for you and your family because you have extended family in San Antonio. Not only that, but you feel like your children’s quality of life would increase because of your increased income.

However, you are bearing all of this in mind as you think about your geographic restriction. You know that the geographic restriction forces you to live in Southeast Texas. The city of San Antonio is well past the geographically restricted area where you can live. It strikes you that’s imprudent to try and move with the geographic restriction in mind. Of course, you talk to your ex-husband and he is against having the children live so far from him. This is an understandable sentiment and one that you expected. What is your next move in a situation with a geographic restriction?

Filing a child custody modification

When you find yourself in a circumstance involving a geographic restriction needing to be lifted that would involve filing a modification. A modification case in a family law setting involves several factors. For one, the case forces you to consider the circumstances of your child based on the best interests of him were her. The best interests of the child factors are at the top of a judge’s priority list when it comes to decision-making. A court considers any move foot or lifting of the geographic restriction considering how it impacts your children primarily. How the move would impact you or even your husband is not the first consideration for a court.

Eliminating the geographic restriction is your only chance of being able to execute this move. However, Texas has a presumption that children are better off having a meaningful relationship with both parents. This is why geographic restrictions are favored in many divorce cases. As a result, you can see that you are fighting an uphill battle when it comes to having your geographic restriction lifted. Almost certainly, your move to San Antonio would negatively impact the relationship between your ex-husband and your children. For that reason, the lifting of geographic restrictions is not necessarily favored by most family court judges in Texas.

That does not mean that you should not inquire about the possibilities in your situation. Every divorce case is unique. This means that your family needs to consider its situation when deciding whether to file for a modification. In this type of post-divorce legal matter, there are many factors at play. This is why working with an experienced family law attorney is so important. Not only can the attorney advise you on legal matters but he or she can help you see the case from the perspective of your family.

The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan have the heart of a teacher

Learning as much as you can about family law is important to succeeding in a family law case. I know this may seem obvious or redundant. However, many attorneys do not view a family law case this way. Most attorneys will dictate to you about how your case should be viewed and what decisions to make. You may hear these attorneys pay lip service to the client deciding for themselves. Most of the time these attorneys will provide little to no background information to help their client decide. If you are that client, you will either make a decision based on incomplete information or see your attorney decide for you.

That is not how the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan function. Our attorneys take a different mindset and apply it to your case. We have the heart of a teacher here at the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. What that means is that we take seriously the responsibility we must educate our clients. Once you sign up with our law office, we do not set your case aside to work elsewhere. Rather, we take the time necessary to educate you on the issues in your case and help you make good decisions for your family.

This is especially important in a modification case. Any post-divorce family law case involves complicated facts and specific uses of Texas family law. Going into a case like this without a strong knowledge of the law is a huge disadvantage. Rather than trusting blindly what your attorney has to say come speak to one of the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. We show our clients every day why we are the best family law attorneys in Texas. I’m going to modify the case requires attention and detail look no further than the Law Office of Bryan Fagan.

Can a relocation be in the best interests of your children?

Asking a question about the best interests of your children requires a fact-specific analysis. Here, we have established that you and your family have been succeeding with the geographic restriction in place. Your ex-husband has been taking advantage of the visitation time that he has with his children. There has never been a missed weekend or holiday on the part of your ex-husband. On top of that, your children truly enjoy spending time with him. This presents us with the backdrop we need to analyze whether a modification may be possible.

A challenge that parents who seek to relocate have is that they must argue that the relocation is in the best interest of the child. Parents can forget sometimes whether a relocation is in their best interest or the best interest of the child. Sometimes these subjects are not the same. When petitioning the court for a modification you need to argue that the geographic restriction no longer serves the best interests of your children. Looking at the case from their perspective is most important.

Here, you would need to focus on the move allowing your children to be closer to your extended family. Allowing your child to gain an identity of him or herself based on a relationship with extended family is important. This may be a factor that the court considers when determining whether the move would be in their best interests. A moderate increase in your income could also be in their best interest. However, do not expect that this will be a major factor for the court to consider. Above all else, your ex-husband has a right to a relationship with his children.

Difficulties associated with a relocation and lifting a geographic restriction

The desire to move for a potential new job is understandable. It is flattering to be offered a new job. The prospect of moving and starting fresh after a divorce is also enticing. In short, nobody would blame you for wanting the sort of new beginning a promotion offers. But for the divorce and your family court orders, this move seems like a no-brainer for your family. With that said, the reality is that you do have a court order in place. On top of that, the geographic restriction would be violated were you to accept the job.

A lifting of the geographic restriction would be difficult in these circumstances. That does not mean that it is impossible, however. For example, suppose that your ex-husband did not take advantage of the time that he was awarded with your children. If he misses frequent weekends and holidays with your children, then the court may be more willing to grant the modification you request. After all, he has shown a continued propensity to miss visitation opportunities. The promotion and the opportunity to be closer to the extended family may trump your ex-husband’s possession time.

The reality is that lifting a geographic restriction for the reasons we’ve laid out in this hypothetical would be a challenge. Not too long ago, you and your spouse agreed to the geographic restriction. That circumstances would have changed so dramatically over two years it’s difficult to believe. With numerous job opportunities available to you in Houston, it is not as if San Antonio offers the only chance for increased pay in stature. Preparing for a modification case requires diligence and a goal-oriented mindset.

Finding a middle ground when it comes to lifting a geographic restriction

Another difficult aspect of a modification case is that sometimes there is no middle ground. In this situation, it would not make sense to propose that you move halfway between Houston and San Antonio. That puts you in a position where you are driving 100 miles to work each day. By the same token, that also puts you in a position where you are outside the geographic area where you used to live. This means your ex-husband would also have a drive that is incredibly difficult each weekend of his possession.

However, let’s now assume that the new job isn’t in San Antonio. Rather, the new job you have offered to you is in Huntsville, TX. Huntsville is not within your geographic restriction, either. It is closer to Houston, though. Huntsville is less than 60 miles from the Houston metropolitan area. This change to our hypothetical scenario could make a major difference in determining whether a modification case could potentially be granted. By proposing a move that is much shorter you give yourself more options.

For example, a move to Huntsville could mean that you move from Harris County to Montgomery County. Living in northern Montgomery County means that you have a much more reasonable drive to Huntsville for work. On top of that, it does nothing to violate the geographic restriction. Even if you asked to have the geographic restriction lifted that may be possible if the move would simply necessitate in addition of Walker County to the existing order.

Working with an experienced family law attorney

The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan know how to help clients succeed in modification cases. This is true even in circumstances where lifting a geographic restriction becomes the goal. Families like yours deserve to be treated with dignity and respect during a family law case. We do not take any client for granted. Rather, our attorneys focus intently on helping clients achieve their goals. While not every modification case can be granted it is possible to present strong arguments to a court, regardless.

In this type of scenario, you can help yourself by showing the court that you have worked with your ex-husband on creating alternative visitation schedules that suit his needs. Again, the last thing you want to do in a modification case is to present the request as something that benefits you primarily. Our attorneys can help you frame any argument you make from the perspective of your children.

Our experienced attorneys also have the benefit of creativity and coming up with solutions for families. When you work with our law office you can know that we have walked alongside families just like yours. That experience allows us to provide you with a level of representation that is unmatched in Texas. When our attorneys work on your case we do so with detail and consideration.

Final thoughts on lifting a geographic restriction

Lifting a geographic restriction takes planning period wandering into a modification case is a major mistake. Unfortunately, this is a mistake that many families find themselves making. Do not allow yourself to show up unprepared to court or mediation. By hiring the wrong attorney for your case, you may be unprepared for what comes next. In that situation, your goal of lifting the geographic restriction will almost certainly not be possible.

Thank you for choosing to spend part of your day with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free of charge consultation six days a week. If you have any questions about what you have read in this blog post, please reach out to us today. Feel free to ask questions and seek information in these consultations. That is what the Law Office of Bryan Fagan wants to provide to our community.

Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan

The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan 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. Before signing a document or negotiating on a subject you do not know well, contact our office. We look forward to the opportunity of serving you during an important part of your life. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan is on your side.