Family Law Relocation of Children

Relocating the residence of your child can be difficult where your former partner is opposed to it.

Our Specialist Family Lawyers can assist you to make a case for the relocation of your children and resist your former spouse forcing you to return.

How We Help

If your ex goes to Court, unless you can establish a strong basis for your move, the Court will generally make an Order for you to return with your child. Our Parenting and Relocation Lawyers will guide you before, during or after your move to give you the best opportunity to make your move permanent.

Where your ex opposes your relocation with the children, they will usually make an urgent Court Application for you and the children to immediately return to the usual place of residence.

Our expert Family Lawyers have helped many people to successfully relocate with their children after separation. We can assist you to understand the do’s and dont’s of your situation and assist you to have a very strong argument that persuades the Court that you don’t have to return immediately and, if your ex continues to argue their case, that you should not have to return permanently.

We strongly recommend that you obtain our advice at a Smart Start Appointment about your proposed location before discussing it with your ex.

Relocation Agreements & Mediation

As relocation cases involve sensitive issues, negotiations are best undertaken with an experienced and persuasive Family Lawyer with expertise in relocation cases. Often, due to their complex nature, Mediation is also required.

What if we Can’t Reach an Agreement?

If you are unable to agree, even after attempting Mediation, we can assist you to file an Application with the Court seeking Orders which allow you to relocate the residence of your child/ren.

As relocation cases are one of the most difficult matters for Family Courts, it is essential that you engage an experienced Family Lawyer to prepare your case as early in the process as possible. This will maximise the likelihood of success of your Application whether that be to relocate with the children, or restrain the other party from doing so.

Relocation Applications

If you can’t reach an agreement to relocate you should discuss with your Specialist Family Lawyer whether you should make an Application to the Court for permission to relocate before you move.

The Family Court is required to consider the best interests of your child in determining whether you can remain in the new location and, in doing so, the Court must weigh the reasons for your move against your child’s entitlement to continue a meaningful relationship with their other parent. This decision comes down to many finely-balanced considerations that together are the basis of the Court’s decision for the relocation to be allowed or not.

If you relate without a Relocation Order, the other parent will usually make an urgent Recovery Application for your child to return to the usual place of residence, with the dispute about whether you are permitted to relocate with the child on a permanent basis to be decided after the return of the child and at a later date after evidence from a psychologist and other experts has been obtained.

As with all Parenting Orders, the Court has to consider the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration. The two (2) most important considerations are the benefit of the child having a meaningful relationship with both parents and the need to protect the child from family violence or harm.

Resisting a Recovery Application

Where your ex makes a Court Application for you and the children to return, the case is generally made up of two (2) parts:

1. The urgent Application seeking that you return immediately, and
2. The final Application seeking that you stay in the usual place of residence on a permanent basis (until the child reaches 18 years).

The Court will make Orders requiring you to return on an interim basis unless you have compelling evidence that it is in the best interests of your child for them to remain in the new location.

If you can persuade the Court that your child should stay in the new location until the final Application is heard, then you are more likely to be permitted to remain in the new location on a permanent basis. This has the added advantage that you can deal with the Court proceedings from your preferred location, where you may have family support, rather than having to spend a year or more engaged in Court proceedings from the place where you don’t want to be.