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This blog is for parents looking to prevent their ex-spouse from removing a geographic restriction in their Texas family law case. We’ll focus on providing you with insights to help protect your children and avoid potentially harmful outcomes, even in challenging situations. In this post, we’ll discuss the key factors you should emphasize when presenting your case to a judge, ensuring you’re well-prepared for the process.
Highlighting your involvement as an active parent to maintain geographic restrictions
First, prioritize highlighting your relationship with your child in your case. Texas law supports the view that maintaining ongoing relationships with both parents serves a child’s best interests. Demonstrating that your ex-spouse’s intent to lift the geographic restriction would disrupt your bond with your child is a compelling argument. Consistent involvement in your child’s school, sports, religious activities, and family life strengthens your case against allowing a long-distance move.
Second, you will then hone in on specific parts of your relationship with your children. Do you come home from work and immediately help your kids with their homework before dinner? What about the busy executive who makes every effort in the world to be able to see your child’s tennis matches? Do you teach Sunday school at church and involve your kids in religious activities? These are the sort of concrete examples of parental engagement that I had in mind.
Specifically, what impact do you believe that the hypothetical move with have on you and your child? If your ex-spouse plans to move with the kids to a town twenty miles from yours, you would not be in the same league as a parent who risks seeing their child move halfway around the globe. With Houston being an international city, it is not out of the realm of possibility that your ex-spouse may want to move with your kids back home to Africa, Asia or Europe. Clearly outline the challenges you and your children will face if the geographic restriction is lifted.
Is your ex-spouse moving to do what’s best for the kids or themselves?
Many parents will seek to move their children to a new location by having a geographic restriction lifted. The cause for that move will oftentimes be the desire to be closer to a new love interest. Your ex-spouse may even have begun dating and is now in the process of marrying their new partner. This can have a profound impact on your relationship with your child if your ex-spouse wishes to lift a geographic restriction in order to be closer in proximity to the home of their significant other.
Remember that the purpose of the move must be in the best interests of your child and must be allowable due to a substantial change in circumstances. Both of these conditions must be met. Just because something is really good for your ex-spouse does not automatically make it so for your children, as well. You should take the time to figure out how a move may be more related to your ex-spouse’s romantic pursuits than to any particular benefit for your kids.
Work, work, work
A common argument for lifting a geographic restriction is that a parent needs to move to find work. Given the opportunities in this region, that argument holds little weight. Southeast Texas has about as diverse an economy as any area in the country and as such, if you cannot find a job here there is little reason to believe that you will be able to do so, elsewhere.
However, it does happen that parents file modification cases in order to have geographic restrictions lifted in order to move elsewhere for work. Maybe what your ex-spouse wants is more stability with a job. Or maybe a better commute time sounds nice given the sometimes horrendous Houston traffic. Whatever the reason, it would serve you well if you do not want that geographic restriction lifted to point out and question your ex-spouse about the efforts he or she has gone through to find work in this area. That should be the first step, not the last. The court set the geographic restriction for a reason, and it should only be lifted if a substantial change in circumstances has occurred since the original order.
Could you also make a move with your child?
I don’t mean to say that you would move along with your child and your ex-spouse into a new residence. What I mean to ask is whether you’ve considered relocating to the new area where your child would be moving. Would the cost of a move be too much for you? Again, a move down the road is not comparable to a move across the country. It is reasonable that you would not have the wherewithal to pick up and go at a moment’s notice any place that your ex-spouse intends to move.
On the other hand, if a move could potentially benefit you and you do not consider it, that could be points against you. Our out principle, pride or fear (or a combination of any of these factors) you may want to remain in the area where you are right now. You keep telling yourself that you have a geographic restriction in place and that nothing can force you to leave. That may be true on some level, but if a meritorious attempt to lift that restriction comes before the court it may be the case that you are a parent who is under the microscope.
What connections do you have with the new area?
Did you and your ex-spouse meet and begin dating in another area of Texas than you live in now? What about another state or even another country? If you originally met, married, and had children outside of Texas before relocating, this history will be a key factor if your ex-spouse seeks to lift the geographic restriction. Judges often view established ties to the area as a positive when deciding on such matters. Having childcare available, a support system, and contacts in the area to help you find work would be pluses.
On the other hand, your ex-spouse may want to move to an area where you have no history and no contacts. Asking you to start over is something that many judges will be unwilling to do under most circumstances. If the new location is so far that travel would consume most visitation time, you might feel compelled to move there just to maintain a relationship with your child.
This lack of contact with the proposed area could hurt your ex-spouse’s case a significant amount. Children rely on stability and consistency in their home environments to develop a sense of self. If your child currently has that at home in your area and would need to redevelop that in a new area then this would not be a strong suit of your ex-spouse’s case to have that geographic restriction lifted.
Question the motive behind the move
Was your divorce amicable or messy? Does your ex-spouse resent you for remarrying or starting a new relationship? If so, then he or she may be looking for a reason to hurt you. Unfortunately, it is often the case that your child is the easiest and most effective tool to potentially do this. Trying to move with your child to a faraway location, or at least scaring you into thinking that this type of move may be upcoming, is not out of the question.
The motive behind the move needs to be examined. Often times families have legitimate reasons for wanting to have a geographic restriction lifted. Other times the proposed lifting of the geographic restriction has more to do with petty squabbles between parents. If you suspect that yours involves an ex-spouse who is trying to be vindictive towards you then you should let your attorney know. There needs to be a legitimate reason (at the very least) that is used to justify the lifting of a geographic restriction.
How well will your children handle the move to a new location?
There is going to be stress associated with a move of any kind. You probably went through some stress moving out of the house during your divorce. Your kids may have had to move multiple times since the start of your divorce. Whatever your specific situation you need to know that your kids are resilient, no matter what happens. It is not a foregone conclusion that your children will be harmed by a move.
However, that doesn’t mean that your ex-spouse can utilize any flimsy rationale to justify a move and a lifting of a geographic restriction. If your children are particularly resistant to change or have emotional or behavioral issues that worsen with moving, focus on that as a key factor in your case. It may not be a bad idea (if you can afford it) to motion the judge to have a study done of your children by a counselor or therapist. A professional can interview your children to assess the current impact of the potential move and predict the possible effects if it goes through.
Keep in mind that your children will be moving to a new school, will need to find new friends, and will have a whole new set of circumstances to settle into during the move. I cannot imagine how difficult this would be for most kids. If you believe that your children are vulnerable to these sorts of stresses in particular then you need to do what it takes to get this evidence before a judge. Draw from your past moving experiences to demonstrate to the judge what would likely happen if the court allows another move.
Figure out who the move is really for and then hammer on that
Judges do not want to allow moves just to placate a parent. If the move is more about your ex-spouse than it is about your child then that should be an important prong of your case. Keep in mind that lifting the geographic restriction requires the judge to determine that a significant change in circumstances justifies the decision, either for a party involved or for your children. Additionally, the judge must find that the modification serves your children’s best interests, which is a high standard to meet. Your best approach is to prepare strong evidence that challenges both of these points. Fortunately, you are an active and engaged parent who knows your child better than anyone. Use that to your advantage in attempting to keep the geographic restriction in place.
In conclusion, maintaining geographic restrictions in your Texas family law case is essential for ensuring stability for your children. By presenting strong evidence and prioritizing your child’s best interests, you can build a compelling case against lifting these restrictions. It’s vital to prepare your arguments carefully, taking into account factors like educational consistency, community connections, and support systems that contribute to your child’s overall well-being. With thoughtful preparation and strategic presentation, you can effectively advocate for the protection and stability your child deserves.
What can a court do in response to a motion to modify a divorce decree? Read tomorrow’s blog post
We will complete our series of blog posts on the lifting of geographic restrictions by focusing on what a court can do in response to a petition to modify a divorce decree.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about the material that we shared with you today then please contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free-of-charge consultations six days a week where we can answer your questions and address your concerns directly.
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