questions & answers

Question: I live with my parents but want to move to another town to re establish my career. they have helped me raise my daughter and now are telling me i cannot take her with me. i have custody of her and their defense is that they have invested alot of time in her. i have the right to just move with her do i not?

Answer:

- Generally, when a parent is considering relocating a child, such must be by written agreement or court order if both parents are entitled to custody or parenting time AND both parents reside in the same state. Such must be done if a parent is relocating the child outside the state or more than one hundred miles within the state, see ARS 25-408(B). There may be occasion when a person, other than a legal parent, may file for custody of a child (such as a person in loco parentis, see ARS 25-415 (the whole statute) and also section (G)(1)of the same statute). The petition will be denied unless the petitioner establishes ALL of the four elements in section A as true. Nevertheless, a parent should read all of section 25-415 as well the custody decree that they received when they were awarded custody to better understand their options.