Sharing custody of your children with an ex-spouse may not present much problem if you and your fellow parent are residents of the same community in Colorado. However, your former spouse may express a desire to move somewhere else with your child, to another community or even another state. Naturally, you may wonder if the other parent has good reasons for relocating.
In order for your ex-spouse to relocate, a court will have to approve it. The other parent will have to present what the court will likely require to be a good faith reason for relocating. FindLaw explains what a court might consider as good faith reasons for moving.
Good faith reasons
Many good faith reasons for relocating are ones that benefit your children. A court will likely approve of a parent who wants to relocate to take up a new job in another community. This should be an actual job offer, though. A court may find it suspicious if the parent says he or she wants to relocate to find a new job. This does not guarantee that the parent will find a new job.
A court may consider other good faith reasons that do not involve job opportunities. A parent may want to move to a community with a better cost of living, which can help save on living expenses. A parent may also want to take classes to work towards a degree, which may someday lead to a higher paying job. A parent may also want to move close to family who can help with taking care of a child or children.
Bad faith reasons
You may express objections if your ex-spouse wants to move for reasons that do not appear to yield any benefit for your children and may appear motivated by spite. A bad faith reason may involve trying to distance your children from you or attempting to dodge responsibilities by relocating so far away that you would have difficulty contacting the other parent.
Also be aware that a court may examine your reasons for objecting to a relocation. Sometimes an objecting parent may not have exercised his or her parental responsibilities, like utilizing visitation rights, which strengthens the case that the other parent may know what is best for the children involved. So you may need to consult with legal counsel to understand any possible pitfalls you may encounter if you object to a relocation.