Move away Question

[socrateaser]

>The reason I moved is to be close to my son, and so I could
>have Shared parenting.
>
>My eX knows that and I believe that is why she moved.
>
>What kind of evidence would I need to bring to court to show
>them the move was vindictive?  I would have to show that
>Shared Parenting is in the childs best interest. (which we all
>know)

Let me make sure I have the facts straight: your ex purchased a new home 35 miles away in a different county PRIOR to providing you and the court with notice of her intended move?

Because, if that's true, then your ex is in contempt, and the court will be quite likely to award you additional compensatory parenting time for the failure to give proper notice. Especially, if you combine the fact that you moved to be closer to your child in the first place.

All of this assumes that your relationship with your child is a good one. Obviously, if it's weak and the child doesn't really wish to spend time with you, then you're probably wasting your time.

But, if the relationship is strong, and my facts are straight, then I'd be getting an attorney and suing for contempt. The court will very likely force your ex to pay all your attorney fees, which by itself should be a strong incentive for her to either settle on your terms and/or stop screwing with you in the future.

[Bolivar]

" your ex purchased a new home 35 miles away in a different county PRIOR to providing you and the court with notice of her intended move?"
>>YES.  She has still not given the court notice of her intention to move.


"All of this assumes that your relationship with your child is a good one. Obviously, if it's weak and the child doesn't really wish to spend time with you, then you're probably wasting your time."
>>I have a GREAT relationship with my son!!!!!


"But, if the relationship is strong, and my facts are straight, then I'd be getting an attorney and suing for contempt."
>> I have an attorney and he said "be quiet, don't let her know, that we know she moved."  Then he said "if she finds out you know then she will file now".  Apparently he feels that if she files now not much will happen.  


What kind of questions should I be asking my attorney?

[socrateaser]

>" your ex purchased a new home 35 miles away in a different
>county PRIOR to providing you and the court with notice of her
>intended move?"
>>>YES.  She has still not given the court notice of her
>intention to move.
>
>
>"All of this assumes that your relationship with your child is
>a good one. Obviously, if it's weak and the child doesn't
>really wish to spend time with you, then you're probably
>wasting your time."
>>>I have a GREAT relationship with my son!!!!!
>
>
>"But, if the relationship is strong, and my facts are
>straight, then I'd be getting an attorney and suing for
>contempt."
>>> I have an attorney and he said "be quiet, don't let her
>know, that we know she moved."  Then he said "if she finds out
>you know then she will file now".  Apparently he feels that if
>she files now not much will happen.  
>
>
>What kind of questions should I be asking my attorney?

Your attorney is risking that the mother notices you before she moves and within the time limit, in exchange for obtaining an undefeatable contempt order if she does not notice you timely.

The alternative is to file for contempt now, and risk that the evidence of the purchase of the home, does not satisfy the judge that by doing so, your ex has already demonstrated her willful disregard for the relocation requirement.

The statute in question is ORC 3109.051(G)(1), which states:
   
"If the residential parent intends to move to a residence other than the residence specified in the parenting time order or decree of the court, the parent shall file a notice of intent to relocate with the court that issued the order or decree. Except as provided in divisions (G)(2), (3), and (4) of this section, the court shall send a copy of the notice to the parent who is not the residential parent. Upon receipt of the notice, the court, on its own motion or the motion of the parent who is not the residential parent, may schedule a hearing with notice to both parents to determine whether it is in the best interest of the child to revise the parenting time schedule for the child."

Note that the parent's "intent" to move must be reported to the court and the noncustodial parent. Well, to my way of thinking, buying a new home is evidence beyond a reasonable doubt of one's intent to move, therefore your ex is already in contempt (and regardless of whether or not escrow actually closes on the home).

So, here, the risk of the judge determining that your ex is not in contempt, is outweighed by the benefit of the fact, that once your ex has actually moved, a new status quo will be in place, and the judge may be reluctant to force the mother to move back to her original location. In fact, if evidence surfaces showing that you knew of the move earlier and didn't act, then your ex may be able to plead Laches, i.e., unfair prejudice and unreasonable delay in enforcing one's rights, and that would avoid the contempt.

Now, if your attorney knows how your judge is likely to rule in this circumstance, or there exists case law supporting a harsh result for a parent who fails to give timely notice, then I'd side with your attorney. Otherwise, I'd want to know why he isn't filing for contempt now.

There's one other issue. The statute doesn't state what the notice requirement is, i.e., how many days in advance of the move is timely notice? That's the other question. There is probably some local court standard, or overarching statute that answers the question, but, if not, then I would think that 21 days notice would be reasonable -- anything shorter would not, but this ambiguity would be sufficient to avoid the contempt, in which case, your attorney would be correct to wait until your ex actually moves, because that would remove any uncertainty of whether timely notice was given.


 

[Bolivar]

As always "Thanks a million"

The Children sing songs of joy for your help!!!!

God smiles on you!!!!!!

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)