Not automatically. If you share custody, moving out of state with your child generally requires either the other parent’s consent or a court order. California courts decide these “move-away” requests based on the best interest of the child — and the outcome often turns on your existing custody arrangement.
Relocation is one of the hardest issues in family law, because it can’t be split down the middle — the child either moves or doesn’t. A new job, family support, or a fresh start may make a move the right choice for you, but when you share custody, it isn’t a decision you can make alone.
Why you usually can’t just move
If the other parent has custody or visitation rights, taking the child out of state in a way that disrupts those rights generally requires their consent or the court’s permission. Moving first and explaining later is risky: a unilateral relocation can damage your position and, in some cases, lead a court to order the child returned.
Your current custody order shapes the standard
The legal test depends heavily on the existing arrangement. A parent who has sole or primary physical custody generally starts with a presumptive right to relocate, and the other parent must show the move would harm the child. But where parents share joint physical custody, the analysis shifts much closer to a fresh look at what custody arrangement now serves the child’s best interest. The same move can be evaluated very differently depending on which situation you’re in.
What the court weighs
California courts consider a well-established set of factors in move-away cases, including:
- The reason for the proposed move (and whether it’s made in good faith)
- The distance involved
- The child’s age and ties to school, community, and extended family
- The child’s relationship with each parent and the parents’ ability to co-parent
- How the child’s contact with the non-moving parent could be preserved
- The child’s wishes, if the child is mature enough to express them
If you’re considering a move
The safest path is to address it before you go: seek the other parent’s written consent, or file a request with the court to modify custody and authorize the move. Coming in with a realistic long-distance parenting plan — one that shows how the other parent will keep a meaningful relationship with the child — tends to matter a great deal.
Move-away cases are fact-intensive and high-stakes in both directions, whether you’re the parent hoping to relocate or the one opposing it. Our family law practice handles these requests and can help you understand your standing before you act.