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Can I Move with My Child During or After My Orlando, Florida Area Divorce or Custody Case?

The statute that lays out the rules for moving during or after an Orlando area divorce or custody case is Florida Statute 61.13001-Parental Relocation Statute, which can be found here. 

In every divorce or custody case in the State of Florida, the parents must complete a parenting plan. Every Supreme Court of Florida Parenting Plan in an Orlando, Florida area divorce or custody matter includes the language from Florida Statute 61.13001. It states that you can move up to fifty (50) miles from your principal place of residence. However, if you move fifty (50) miles or more, you must comply with Florida Statute 61.13001. 

What Relocation Means

What is considered relocation under the statute? Relocation means that you have moved 50 miles or more from where you lived at the time of the last custody order. The fifty (50) miles is calculated as a straight line as the crow flies. Relocation means you have moved 50 miles or more and you will remain at the new location for sixty (60) consecutive days or more. 

Best Interest of the Child

Under 61.13001 (3) Florida Statutes (2020), unless the parents of a minor child agree, a parent seeking to relocate 50 miles or more from their current residence must petition the court for approval. Further, the move must be in the best interest of the child. A trial court cannot award timesharing based on a potential relocation in the future in a dissolution of marriage ruling. The trial court is only allowed to decide as to the child’s present best interest at the divorce trial. The trial court cannot include a conditional timesharing provision in the final judgment that would come into play if one of the parties relocates. 

Why it’s Important

Why should you care about this when drafting a parenting plan? In an Orlando area case, the other party can move 49 miles without a court order. Forty-nine miles can be a long distance in the Orlando, Florida area; and you now must travel that distance on Interstate 4, even during rush hour. You may end up on the road for two hours or more transporting your child if one parent moves within 49 miles of where they lived at the time of the last custody order. That unforeseen change could be burdensome to you and the child.  

That is why it is important to have all these issues discussed with the other parent to avoid litigation down the road. After your divorce or custody case, the last thing you want is another issue that brings you back to court. Therefore, it is important to think through these issues before you enter a parenting plan in the Orlando, Florida area.   

If you have more questions regarding a Marital and Family Law matter, you may call Ann Marie Giordano Gilden at Ann Marie Giordano Gilden, P.A. at 407-732-7620 and set an initial consultation. 

This article is for informational purposes only and does not form an attorney client privilege.