Relocation Matters Involving Custody and Visitation

Custody relocation cases in
Pennsylvania

In our nationalized economy, parents often seek
to move away from the county or state where
they had exercised custody or visitation.

It is a great idea to obtain written permission
from the other parent or an order of court prior to
relocating to another area, because the child
may be required to be brought back to his or her
former location if prior approval was not
obtained (and your plans will have to change,
radically).

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a judicial
hearing on whether the parent is permitted to
move the minor children is called a "relocation"
hearing or a "Gruber hearing", after the seminal
case dealing with this issue. Whether or not a
parent is permitted to relocate with the minor
child or minor children depends on a number of
factors including the extent of the relationship
between the children and each parent prior to
the request to relocate, the reasons behind the
move, the reasons why the non-relocating parent
wishes to prevent the move, whether the move
would improve the lives of the children in some
manner and whether a realistic schedule for the
other parent could be formulated if the relocation
is granted.