Making decisions regarding their children’s care arrangements can be challenging after parents have separated. When one parent is eager to leave the neighbourhood of the previous family home, good intentions to concentrate on co-parenting or “parenting apart” and what is best for the kids may wane.
What should you do if the other parent refuses to cooperate? Scotland Relocation
It is ideal if you and the other parent agree on every detail of the proposed move, such as where the children will live, attend school, or go to creche, and how the other parent will keep in touch with the parent who is leaving behind if you are living in Scotland with your child or children and would like to move away from the area with them. Naturally, there will be situations in which this is neither suitable nor feasible.
But sometimes agreement isn’t attainable, in which case you might need to ask the court for permission to relocate with the kids or move away.
How do you define a move away? Is a two-hour travel sufficient distance to require judicial approval?
There are conflicting opinions about the extent to which one parent may relocate their children without the other parent’s permission or a court order. When a parent relocates inside Scotland, they could encounter resistance from their partner. For instance, a court case involving a potential relocation from Aberdeenshire to Tayside featured me in 2021.
Generally speaking, the same factors probably need to be taken into account for any long-distance transfer, be it domestically in Scotland, across the UK, or abroad.
What factors does the court take into account before granting permission? relocate
A parent wishing to move with their children is almost always required to give the court information regarding the following:
- the suitability and affordability of the children’s suggested accommodation;
- the children’s suggested schedule for education;
- how the parent who wants to go away will support the kids financially;
- the suggestions for preserving communication between the kids and the other parent; and
- the rationale behind the suggested change.
After that, the court must determine what is in the children’s best interests based on all of the evidence at its disposal. Many parents who want to move with their kids might be shocked to learn that the court does not prioritise their reasons for wanting to move. An expert family lawyer should be consulted as soon as possible by a parent who wants to relocate with their children, even if there are valid grounds for the transfer and the planned arrangements have been carefully considered.
