Can my ex-partner stop me from moving away with the kids?

Where possible, it is best to try to come to an agreement together before moving away as this avoids the need to go to court and the potential upset this can cause.

You can reach an agreement without the assistance of a divorce lawyer. However, this will not be legally binding or enforceable. If you and your ex-partner are on good terms, they may agree to the move and you could compromise on areas such as the below:

• The location you wish to move to
• Assistance that you could give them for them to visit
• A commitment for you to bring the child to them on a regular basis
• Them moving closer to where you move
• Or, any other terms that may be relevant to you.

However, the relocation of children, especially abroad, will inevitably have a huge impact on the contact that one parent will have with their children and so an agreement between the parties is not always possible. This is more likely if you parted on bad terms.

If an agreement cannot be reached, then an application to the court will be necessary to obtain approval to relocate with the children. Alternatively, the parent that is opposing the move can make an application to the court to prevent the relocation.

The likely outcome of the court application depends on multiple factors. As such, it is vital that at this point you seek out legal assistance. Contact Stowe Family Law’s divorce lawyers for more information.

The gender of the parent isn’t the deciding factor when relocating children. Being a mother doesn’t automatically give them more rights over the child in the eyes of the law and vice versa. The father and the mothers rights are interchangeable depending on the responsibility status.

What the law looks at is who has parental responsibility. If you have parental responsibility, you have the right to object to any move. Either through mediation, court orders or new child arrangement orders.

Moving within the UK is often granted by the courts if there are appropriate reasons, however if the relocation is outside of the UK  it has different rules. Without consent from the other parent, they would need to apply for ‘permission to remove from the jurisdiction’.

Parental responsibility is automatically granted to:

• Mothers: automatic parental responsibility for their children upon birth. This is the case even if they used donated eggs to conceive.
• Fathers: when they are married to the mother at the time the child is born

Unmarried fathers or non-biological fathers need to go through legal steps to gain parental responsibility, such as being added to the birth certificate or child arrangement orders. 

There are no direct legal restrictions on where a parent can move with the child in the UK but if the other parent has parental responsibility, they have a legal right to challenge it. They can apply to the local court for a Prohibited Steps Order or a Child Arrangements Order, which will then decide what will happen.

If a parent is unable to obtain agreement from the other parent, they will then have to apply to the court for permission and file an application called “permission to remove from the jurisdiction.”

The court will ultimately act in the best interest of the child. Recent cases indicate that obtaining court permission for international relocation is becoming increasingly challenging, as numerous criteria must be satisfied.

When considering such applications, the court will typically examine factors including:

• The reasons behind the proposed move
• The intended destination and living arrangements
• The impact on the child’s health and education
• The child’s age and their views on the relocation
• A practical and sustainable plan for maintaining contact with the other parent

Historically, there has been a notable reluctance from the NRP to challenge the PC regarding the relocation of their children in the belief that an application would be fruitless and that the courts favour the PC.

At this time, the courts placed a lot of emphasis on the impact on the parent wishing to relocate if the application was rejected, this was one of the points of consideration under the leading case at the time of Payne v Payne [2001].

However, more recent case law indicates that times have changed.

The leading case law in this area is now K v K [2011] and Re F [2013] and the paramount principle is the welfare of the child. There is guidance set out within these cases and also Payne v Payne, but they are not applied rigidly, and they are merely factors that are weighed by the court in ascertaining what the best interests of the child are. They can include the impact of a refusal on the applicant parent, the effect on the child due to the reduction of contact with the remaining parent and the impact on the remaining parent.

Relocation cases can be very challenging for all parties involved. Taking a child away from one parent is not a decision that should be taken lightly, and the welfare of any children must be paramount.