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Hello, thank you for taking the time to read this.
I have had sole residence of my 9 year old Daughter for over 7 years after her mother was seen unfit to look after her due to mental health reasons.
Her Mother has now been discharged from the hospital where she was receiving treatment and we have been to court and she can now have supervised access for 5 hours on a Saturday. This is due for renewal in 6 weeks.
My dilemma is that I have a new relationship and we are expecting our first child in October. My partner wants to relocate to a better area over 350 miles away near more work opportunities as the town where we living at the moment has none.
What are my rights if I wish to move with my daughter?
I have been given no advise so far and would like to get settled in the new area before the child is born and get my Daughter settled in a new School before the new term starts.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
RD
Hi and welcome to the forum.
Assuming you are staying within this country (excluding Northern Ireland), then as long as you have a good reason to move (ie you aren't simply moving to make contact difficult) then you are able to move without the courts permission - is there a particular reason for the place you wish to move to, family etc?
I would suggest that you do try to discuss the situation with your ex to see if there is any compormise you can come up with, though over such a distance it is going to be very difficult - but regular skype contact for instance may be part of the solution. I would say that you need to have a reasonable proposal for the court when the renewal comes up.
I will ask the CCLC to comment, so keep an eye out for their reply.
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your question.
If you have parental responsibility of your daughter and want to relocate within England and Wales then you do not need to apply to court for permission to move. As a matter of good practice you should consult with mother on the matter however you do not need her permission. If mother becomes aware that you are moving she could apply to court for a Prohibited Steps Order to try and stop you moving. The only difficulty in this situation is that there is a contact order in place. If by you moving the contact specified will become unworkable then you would need to apply to court to have that contact order varied. If court proceedings are ongoing at the moment and the order has not yet been finalised then you may need to make an additional application to court. It would be advisable for you to contact us directly so we can ascertain the current situation and advise you accordingly on the matter.
You can contact us via our webchat facility which can be found at http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com/index.php?page=web_chat or contact us on 0808 802 0008.
Yours sincerely,
Coram Children’s Legal Centre
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