Many divorced families in Colorado face a conundrum whenever one of the parents needs to relocate either for work or for personal reasons. Usually the non-custodial parent can move without any trouble, but the parent who holds primary custody must request formal permission from the court.
According to Divorcenet, advance notice of the move must be given along with the date of the move, the address and contact information. The person who is the designated primary physical custodian can ask the court to relocate and they have to provide notice to the other side. In the notice, they have to set the date of the intended relocation, the address where the children and the parents are going to relocate and the telephone number.
According to Findlaw, the notice has to be several days before the intended move. So there’s all these different statutory requirements that the custodial parent has to follow before the court can even make a decision on whether to allow the relocation or not. Failure to follow those notice requirements can actually be a factor in the court deciding not to allow the relocation to take place with the kids.
After that notice is given, the non-custodial parent has 30 days to file an objection and if the parties can’t come to an agreement, then a hearing is set and a judge will decide whether or not the relocation is allowed to move forward. At this hearing, or sometimes even a trial, evidence is then presented and the person who is seeking the relocation with the kids has the burden of proof to show that the move is made in good faith.