It isn’t uncommon for men and women to opt for relocation following a divorce. In fact, it may be one of the easiest ways to get past the unpleasantness of the situation and make a new beginning in a new place. Unfortunately, shifting base to a new state or country could lead to problems when the marriage bears minor children and the partners are in disagreement with regards to the relocation. An important factor to deal with in relocation is to prepare the minor children to live away from the other parent.
Notification of move and custodial plan
The court typically requires a parent seeking relocation to give notification to their ex-partner well in advance before making the move. The state laws typically specify the timelines for notification.
Your lawyer in the state of California may suggest providing a proper custodial plan to the other parent along with the move notification. This enables them to maintain a constant and frequent connection with the minor kids.
A custodial plan is also a good way to help your minor children deal with the new situation. Based on the distance to your new location, a custodial plan gives sufficient time to arrange for visits during the kids’ summer vacation and other holidays. The plan may also include airfare to the noncustodial parent for visits or other effective compromises which prevent time loss while also maintaining their ability to visit the children on a regular basis.
California requires a consent from the noncustodial parent along with a notification for the move. The matter may be taken to the court in case there is disagreement between the parents regarding relocation.
Here are a few tips that could help prepare your minor children for relocation after a divorce:
Make concrete plans
Your minor child/children will no longer be living close to your ex-spouse. This is going to be a big change in their life and therefore you need to sit them down and have a long talk about how this would work. It is a good idea to let the noncustodial parent know that you would want them to have a good, healthy relationship with the child/children, regardless of the distance.
Working together to make a plan for visitation and other things should be done immediately after the relocation decision. This plan can then be presented to the minor children as it will help ease their anxiety regarding not seeing the other parent too frequently. The idea is to give ample reassurance to the minor children that the noncustodial parent will continue to have a significant parenting role in their lives.
You can even create a calendar for your minor children and highlight the days when the other parent would be visiting them or when they would be taking holidays together.
Make use of technology
Technology has made our lives a lot easier and given us the gift of instant connection. Modern teenagers are extremely tech-savvy and may even teach you how to use things such as instant messenger, Skype and so on. So, another great way to prepare your minor children for the relocation is to encourage them to teach you and the noncustodial parent the amazing ways of connecting through cyberspace.
If your ex doesn’t have the knowledge about these things, he/she can get tips from the children and they can then easily connect with each other anytime, anywhere. This way, the distant parent would not miss out on any important events and milestones in your child’s life.
Emailing pictures frequently could also help maintain a healthy, thriving relationship between the children and the noncustodial parent.
