Hello,

I've been in Texas 12 yrs now and moved here with my then husband due to his job. We were divorced shortly after moving here. I have primary custody of our children who are now 13 and 15 yrs old. I've stayed in Texas so the children can remain close to their father but I have been with someone for 7 yrs now and we are wanting to move out of state and go back to where he is from so he can be close to his family. Do I stand any chances of moving my children out of Texas if the father is paying child support and sees them on a regular basis?

Move-aways can be kind of tough (contested ones I mean) and expensive. We usually do a full custody evaluation on them to get the imput of an expert on how the move will impact the kids. Of course, if you want to move and leave the kids behind with the other parent you can always do that but most people don't see that as an option.

In California this is a hugely complex area of law (like just about everything else in family law) and the outcome can depend on a number of things: if either parent has sole custody (which often leads to confusion over definitions of what that is), whether the orders are "permanent" or just temporary (pendente lite) and on and on. Check with local counsel to see what's involved if you can't get an agreement from the co-parent.