• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Phone: 3465 9332

Logo
  • Home
  • Our Team
    • Courtney Barton – Legal Practice Director & Founder
    • George Finn – Director
    • Chris Colwill – Senior Associate
    • Ellie Prior – Associate
    • Hannah Radunz – Solicitor
    • Tenayah Miano – Paralegal
    • Alice Chapman – Paralegal
    • Rachel Elaurant – Legal Assistant
  • Our Services
    • Divorce Property Settlement Lawyers
    • Family Law Spousal Maintenance
    • Superannuation Splitting & Advice Lawyers
    • Child Custody Lawyers Brisbane
    • Child Support Lawyers
    • Child Relocation Family Lawyers
    • Child Abduction Family Lawyers
    • Fixed Fee Consent Orders Brisbane
    • Binding Financial Agreements
    • Fixed Fee Divorce Lawyers
    • Domestic Violence Lawyer – DVO Domestic Violence Order
    • Family Court Process
    • Family Mediation Services Brisbane
  • Fixed Fees
  • Common questions
    • Spousal & Separation
      • Beware the criminal consequences of false allegations of sexual abuse
      • Initial Contributions Count – 8 years + 1 child = 78%/82% to Husband
      • Validity of Overseas Orders – Parenting, Marriage and Divorce Orders
      • Superannuation Splitting in Financial Agreements
      • Is my Binding Financial Agreement Binding?
      • Bodilly & Hand: Spousal Maintenance ordered 17 years after separation
      • Admissibility of admissions at mediation in court proceedings
      • Does your Financial Agreement Protect you from a maintenance claim?
      • The Alter Ego Principle – When a Spouse uses a trust to hide assets
      • Do I have to mediate before court? The exemptions Explained
      • Pet Custody – Who gets the dog in a divorce?
      • Top 10 Myths in family Law Finally Exposed
      • Honesty is the best policy – Why tell your divorce lawyer everything
      • My ex is selling assets. What can I do??
      • 6 secrets revealed to help you protect your assets and your family after separation. No. 1 and 2 will blow your mind.
      • Spousal Maintenance – Do I have to support my ex after divorce?
      • Who stays in the home after separation?
      • Can I go to court without doing mediation first?
      • Assessing initial contributions in a long relationship
      • What to do and what not to do before you separate
      • CGT rollover for marriage breakdowns – Ellison & Sandini Explained
      • Domestic Violence Order Applications – How to boost your chance of success
      • Going back to work after Divorce
      • Mediation
      • 10 tips to Protect your Assets
      • Am I in a De Facto Relationship?
      • Property Acquired after Separation – how is it treated?
      • Divorce – What you need to know
      • Petrie Family Law Expert speaks about ‘The Twelve year Itch’
    • Parent
      • Court Ordered Paternity Test – What, Why and How
      • NEWS ALERT – You do NOT need a s60I certificate to file your parenting application – Valack & Valack
      • What is sole parental responsibility?
      • How does a DVO affect parenting orders?
      • Do you want sole Custody? Here’s what NOT to do.
      • SHOCK: Drug use in Australia worse than ever. Drugs & family law explained
      • SHOCK: Drug use in Australia worse than ever. Drugs & family law explained
      • When is supervised time ordered? Is Narcissistic Abuse enough?
      • Interim Parenting Orders
      • What is substantial and significant time?
      • Am I a parent?
      • My ex is in contravention of a Parenting Order. What can I do?
      • My Parents lent me money. Is it treated as a gift or a loan?
      • Gay Couple Win Appeal on sperm donor ‘parent’
      • How to spend more time with your children
      • Parental Alienation in Family Court Disputes: Part 2
      • Im not a parent. Can I apply for a parenting order? Non-Parent Parenting orders explained.
      • Can Parenting Orders be changed?
      • Step-Parent Adoption Explained
    • Child
      • What age can a child decide where they live?
      • Finally revealed: Top 10 things people do wrong in child custody matters
      • Child Relocation Family Lawyers
      • I want sole custody of my child
      • Rights to return of your child if taken to a Non-Hague Convention country
      • How to deal with false allegations in family law
      • Unilateral relocation of children
      • Prevention is better than Cure – Interim Relocation of Children Cases
      • International Travel with Children After Separation
      • Airport Watch List Orders / Pace Alert Orders
      • Application to change parenting orders because of children’s changed views dismissed
      • When can you change your child’s surname?
      • Change in residence for children because of Mother’s inability to protect the children from harm
      • Courtney’s Cases: Interim Orders appealed as Judge avoids determining issues
      • Mother’s persistent accusation that the Father sexually abused their child results in orders for no time with the Mother
      • Relocation – Full Court confirms decision allowing ADF Mother a ‘blank cheque’ relocation to wherever posted in her employment
    • Property
      • Top 15 things people do wrong in a property dispute
      • Hiding assets in a divorce
      • Injunction to stop my ex selling assets
      • What is a Superannuation Payment Flag?
      • Difference between property and a financial resource in family law
      • Impact of overseas divorce on Australian property settlement
      • How Trusts are dealt with in a Property Settlement
      • Redundancy payment – how is it treated?
      • Future inheritances – when can they be taken into account?
      • Can the court order someone to leave a house? – Ouster Orders
      • Time Limits in Property Settlement
      • Beware: failure to disclose may derail your consent order
      • Duty of Disclosure
      • What is just and equitable?
      • Why you should formalise your property settlement
      • Is domestic violence relevant in a property settlement?
      • Varying property orders
      • Defaulting on Property Orders is Dangerous
      • Effect of Bankruptcy on property settlement
      • Courtney’s Cases: Centrelink fraud or a fraudulent representation to the Court?
      • Limitation periods against solicitors for defective Financial Agreements
      • Clayton & Bant – A multi-jurisdictional family law dispute
      • Dunworth & Faletti: Application for injunction to stop sale of property where jurisdiction not yet established
      • Court dismisses application for property settlement for same sex couple of 27 years
    • Child Support
      • I want to set aside a Binding Child Support Agreement
      • I want to challenge my child support assessment
    • Other Legal
      • Out With the Old, In With the New: Why Fixed Fees are better
      • NEWSFLASH – What are the New Family Law Rules?
      • Apprehended Bias – should Judges & lawyers have drinks pre-judgement?
      • Inquest of Jack & Jennifer Edwards – Lessons Learned
      • 6 things you MUST know before hiring a family lawyer
      • Admissibility of opinion evidence & expert evidence in family law matters
      • Admissibility of recordings in family law cases
      • COSTS ORDERS
      • WARNING PRACTITIONERS: New Family Law Rules from 1 March 2018
      • Review of the Family Law System
    • Covid-19
      • The Covid-19 Vaccination – Is mutual parental consent required?
      • I want to apply to the Family Court for inclusion in the Covid-19 List
  • Family Law Videos
  • Family Mediation
  • Contact Us
  • Success Stories
  • Narcissistic Abuse

Child Relocation Family Lawyers

Do I have a right to relocate?

When a parent moves their child/children to another town, state or country, this is known as relocation of children. If following separation, you are considering relocating with your child/children you should first speak to the other parent and obtain their consent to the relocation occurring. If you and your former partner are unable to reach an agreement through mediation, you will be required to file an application to the court, to seek consent to be able to relocate.

If the move is going to significantly limit the time the child/children spend with the other parent, depending on the circumstances of the case, the court may not give permission for you to move with the children.

If you move without the consent of the other parent, the court may require you to return with the children until the case has been finally determined by a court at a Hearing.

For more information on interim relocation cases see our blog entitled Prevention is better than Cure – Interim Relocation Cases. 

When it comes to relocating yourself, your freedom of movement entitles you to pack up and go wherever you please.

However, there is no automatic right for you to be able to relocate with your children, if doing so is likely to impact on the time the other parent spends with the children.

How does a court determine a relocation of children case?

A relocation of children case is just like any other parenting case, in that the court considers what is in the best interests of the children, having regard to the facts of each case and the relevant factors under section 60CC of the Family Law Act.

The best interests of the children is the paramount consideration of the court when determining what orders it is to make. In determining what is in the children’s best interests the court is required to consider the benefit of the child having a meaningful relationship with each of the child’s parents, the child’s right to be protected from harm, neglect and family violence, the capacity of the parents to meet the needs of the children, the relationship of the child with each of the parents, and a variety of other factors. Reasonable practicability of the orders i.e. whether they can physically be carried out and complied with by the parties, is also a relevant consideration.

If a court makes a parenting order which provides for the parties to have equal shared parental responsibility in relation to long term decisions affecting the children, the court must also then consider whether it is in the children’s best interests to spend equal time with each of the parents AND whether equal time is reasonably practicable. If it is not, the court must consider whether the children spending substantial and significant time with the non-primary caregiver is in the children’s best interests and whether substantial and significant time is reasonably practical.

What is the criteria for a successful relocation of children case?

There is no specific formula or set of circumstances that must exist for a relocation of children case to be successful.

In the leading case of Morgan v Miles, the Full Court of the Family Court stated the child’s best interests must be weighed and balanced with the ‘right’ of the proposed relocating parent’s freedom of movement.

The court reminds us on a regular basis that a parent who wishes to move, does not need to provide a compelling reason to be able to do so.

Having said that, Petrie Family Law expert and Principal Courtney Barton says “I highly doubt there is a single successful relocation case on record where there wasn’t a good reason put forward for the move.”

Courtney says that the common reasons put forward in support of a parent wanting to relocate with the children include:

  1. Financial benefits;
  2. Occupational benefits;
  3. Academic benefits;
  4. Family support;
  5. Spousal employment;
  6. Spousal location;
  7. Homesick (want to return home as unable to settle in new location);
  8. Cultural;
  9. Religious;
  10. Mental health.

The court will consider these types of ‘legitimate interests and desires’ of the parties in conjunction with the factors relevant to what is in the best interests of the children, when determining a relocation of children case.

There has been a trend in recent years in the family law sphere, whereby applicants were lead to believe that in order to guarantee the success of an application to relocate they must show that there has been/will be a severe impact on the primary carer’s mental health.

This is a myth.

According to Petrie family law expert and Principal Courtney Barton “although mental health difficulties impacting on the primary carer are a highly relevant consideration of the court, it is certainly not a requirement for a successful relocation case nor is it a guideline.

The legitimate interests and desires of the parties which may result in a successful application for relocation are much more relaxed.

The ‘happiness of the primary carer’ appears to be the most commonly successful storyline.”

Are you seeking to relocate with the children?

If you are seeking to relocate to another town, state or country with your child/children, or if your ex partner is trying to do so, it is important that you seek legal advice as early as possible. In relocation of children cases, it is particularly important that your lawyer is able to take a step back in the preparation process early on and plan a strategy and method of telling your story to the court, to maximise the prospects of success of your application whether that be to relocate with the children, or restrain the other party from doing so.

Contact us now for advice and a plan to enable you to achieve the outcome you desire.

relocation of children

Primary Sidebar

Online Enquiry

.

    I would like to book a reduced rate initial consultation with you

    Footer

    Areas of Practice

    • Child Custody Lawyers Brisbane
    • Divorce Property Settlement Lawyers
    • Fixed Fee Divorce Lawyers
    • Domestic Violence Lawyer – DVO Domestic Violence Order
    • Superannuation Splitting & Advice Lawyers
    • Fixed Fee Consent Orders Brisbane
    • Mediation Representation
    • Child Relocation Family Lawyers
    • Child Abduction Family Lawyers
    • Child Support Lawyers
    • Family Law Spousal Maintenance
    • Family Court Process
    • Family Mediation Services Brisbane
    • Binding Financial Agreements

    What makes us different from other Law Firms?

    Our Brisbane Divorce & Family Lawyers:

    • Only do family law all day every day. That makes us really good at what we do;
    • Are dedicated to helping you work through your family law issues so you can have a fresh start;
    • Have your best interests at heart;
    • Have the knowledge and experience to solve your family law problems, no matter how complex;
    • Will help you to reduce the conflict with your former partner;
    • Will fight for you and your children;
    • Provide exceptional quality service to you, tailored to your individual case needs;
    • Will educate you about your options, the steps you need to take and we will develop a strategy to help you to achieve a fair outcome and the best practical outcome for you and your family;
    • Will provide you with practical, realistic, commercial and strategic advice to empower you to make smart decisions following separation that will save you time, money and stress;
    • Will deliver an outcome to you quickly and cost effectively, with fixed fees for certainty;
    • Will do everything within our legal power to get you the best outcome for you and your family;
    • Are with you, supporting you, every step of the way from negotiations, to mediation, to litigation and settlement.
    Individual liability limited by a scheme approved under professional standards legislation.

    Contact Us

    Petrie Office

    • Address: 4/996 Anzac Avenue, Petrie QLD 4501
    • Parking: Underground parking available at the back of the building via O’Loan Street
    • Phone: 3465 9332
    • Email: [email protected]
    • Website: Petrie Family Lawyers

    Chermside Office

    • Address: 822 Gympie Road, Chermside QLD 4032
    • Phone: 3465 9332
    • Email: [email protected]
    • Website: Chermside Family Lawyers

    Aspley Office

    • Address: Aspley Hypermarket, 59 Albany Creek Road, Aspley QLD 4034
    • Phone: 3465 9332
    • Email: [email protected]
    • Website: Aspley Family Lawyers

    Copyright © 2022 | Website hosted by Lift Legal Marketing