When Custody Issues Cross Texas State Lines
- Are you a divorced custodial parent or unmarried parent who has moved out of state with your child or children?
- Are you a noncustodial parent traveling away from Texas with your child for an extended period of time?
- Do you suspect that a parental relocation is being used to violate a court order and keep you from seeing your child?
Complex interstate custody cases like these are many-sided prisms, open to interpretation during heated child access disputes.
But when your reasons for living outside of Texas with a child are legitimate or you think a relocation is being used against you, as a form of parental alienation, the smartest thing you can do right now is to speak with an experienced, proven effective family law and divorce attorney.
In Greater Houston and surrounding areas, the lawyer who will fight for you, from start to finish, is Travis Thompson of the Law Thompson, P.C., law firm. He has been a certified family law specialist for over 25 years.
Experience In Complex Custody Cases
For more than three decades, attorney Travis Thompson’s proactive legal leadership has made a positive difference in many lives regarding child custody disputes. He listens to the details of your interstate custody disagreements with a former spouse, conducts in-depth research of the situation and proposes thoughtful recommendations that can put this crisis behind you.
Houston child custody lawyer Travis Thompson believes in your rights and in “the best interests of the child.” He is steeped in the law, especially the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, as it pertains to your problem, and legal methods of resolving it.
He works hard to ensure that another state does not attempt to nullify your existing Texas child access arrangements. You benefit from this exceptional expertise and a tradition of personal service that puts your legal needs, questions and concerns first.
Parent Relocation In Texas
Perhaps you are looking to move away in conjunction with your pending divorce, or years have passed since your divorce but you seek to relocate from Texas with your kids. Conversely, you may be the parent who would be left behind and wish to contest a parental move-away situation involving your child.
Parents are free to move anywhere they want, but if they have joint conservatorship, they will need consent from the co-parent or permission from the court to relocate the children outside of Texas (or to a distant part of Texas). The court where custody was established retains jurisdiction over parent relocation. (The custodial parent cannot simply move away and file for custody in a new state or different country.)
The court considers many factors:
- Was there a geographic restriction in the original court order?
- Does the parent have a legitimate reason for relocating such as better employment or better opportunities for the child?
- Does the child already have a close relationship with the other parent? Could a distant relocation jeopardize the child’s healthy relationship with the other parent?
- Is the parent moving to be with a new love interest or to cut the other parent out of the picture?
The court may also take into consideration the wishes of an older child.
These are tough, tense situations that defy an easy solution. If the court does grant relocation, the parent who is moving will have to make certain concessions to foster an ongoing relationship with the child. Travis Thompson will examine your circumstances and give his assessment of where you stand and how the court would likely rule. He will also help you renegotiate the terms of joint conservatorship and child support as necessary, including subsidized travel to ensure the noncustodial parent has regular visitation.
Experience With High-Stakes Family Law Issues
Call 281-369-8665 or email our law offices to arrange a confidential initial consultation with a Houston child custody attorney. We represent clients in Harris County, Montgomery County and surrounding counties.