Relocation disputes are one of the most complex types of cases that family courts
encounter. These cases involve one parent requesting to remove the child a substantial
geographic distance away from the home community of the child and other
parent, either at the time of divorce or subsequent to it. Relocation creates both a
psychological and phYSical separation between the child and non-moving parent.
Since the United States has always been a highly mobile society, it is to be expected
that following separation and divorce parents frequently will want to relocate for a
variety of reasons. Divorcing and divorced parents are about the most mobile of all
identifiable types of family groups (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009). Litigation is common
in relocation cases; such disputes are almost impossible to mediate and settle because
there usually is no middle ground to find a compromise on the core issue of moving.
Frequent moves of a non-residential parent typically do not trigger litigation on the
relocation issue but will require modification to determine how to implement a longdistance
parenting time arrangement.