International Move-Away

[villavilla]

Hello, I am new to this site and here to get some help.  Man, I feel like I've told this story a million times.

Long and short, Childs mother remarried to someone stationed in Italy.  Mother and Father have Joint Legal Custody with 50/50 parenting plan.  Mother is custodial.  Mother now petitioning to have the geographical restriction removed from the original decree so she can uproot the child.  All of childs family is here in Texas.  Child barely knows new husband and there is no family at all in Italy.

Homestudy was requested.  I am the fiance' of the father of the child and we live together.  We provide this child with a wonderful home, her own bedroom, interaction with her family..the whole nine-yards.  He takes advantage of his 50/50 schedule, attends school functions, etc.  She is also a good mother but lives in a trailer with her father, sister and neice.  Doesn't provide the child her own room therefore the child is forced to sleep with her and is almost 6.  I should probably add that the child has been sleeping with her since she was born.  The only times she does not sleep with her mother are the nights she is with us.

2 questions:

How can they do a homestudy on the proposed location of Italy?  Is that even what will happen or will they probably just do the study on the homes here?

Also, I've heard our chances of keeping the child here in Collin County as originally ordered is in our favor but I've also heard the opposite.  Given the circumstances I've laid out, does anyone feel that we are going to be in for an uphill battle?

Your thoughts and information is appreciated.  Thanks

[Davy]

Villa

First of all since you are new to SPARC please be aware that there is much info archived on this site.  Click 'Articles' at the bottom of this page then for starters pull down the new articles ... and click on an article concerning move-aways.  This particular article (section III) indicates that courts (generally speaking) are NOT inclined to approve move-aways for those children in joint physical custody arrangements.  One would rationalize that an international move would be even less appealing for a court to approve.

The home study will, no doubt, be local (in my opinion).  

Collin Co. historically has been very pro-mother and it is enlightening to  learn of a father with 50/50....probably due to a more enlightened judiciary than was the case years ago.  From a more practical matter, your larger concern may be if the court will separate a daughter from a mother.... I suspect your presence is a positive.  

Hope this helps !!

[MixedBag]

Military move huh?

First I suggest that Dad NOT authorize or cooperate with Mom to get the child a passport to leave the country.

Then, do as Davy suggested and read away....there is tons of good information.

Also, do a search on key words like "passports" because some of your questions have been discussed before.

The home study -- my guess would be that it will be based on what mom tells him "life" will be like in Italy (as a military dependent) as well as what she does now.  

(You made the comment that there is no family in Italy -- and I don't think that this is "Important" on a scale of 1-10, because 99% of the miltary folks stationed overseas won't have family nearby. That's a given.)

Retired military here -- and I don't think that moving my kids around for 20 years really hurt them in the long run.  So I sit on the fence where the moving issue is concerned.  Actually, I think my girls are more mature than some of the people here because they HAVE lived all over.

But I know that the courts like stability and extended family around the children.....which I agree with too....  So I find myself sitting on the fence a lot on this issue.