What Are My Options If My Child's Father Wants to Relocate to Michigan?

Q: Can my child's other parent move out of state with our child without my permission in Florida?

Not without either your written, signed agreement or a court order, if the move is more than 50 miles away for 60 or more consecutive days. Florida's relocation statute requires one of those two things before a move like that can happen.

Q: How long do I have to object if the other parent files to relocate with our child?

Generally around 20 days from being properly served with the relocation petition. If you don't file a written, signed objection in time, the court can treat the move as unopposed.

Q: What does a Florida court consider when deciding whether to allow a parent to relocate with a child?

Courts generally look at factors like the child's relationship with each parent, the reasons for and against the move, the child's age and needs, and whether a realistic long-distance time-sharing schedule can be arranged.

Question

My child's father and I have a time-sharing parenting plan in place. He has her during the week, and I have her on the weekends, with holidays split. Last week during an exchange, he told me he needed to talk to me about something. Out of nowhere, he said he was thinking about moving to Michigan because of a job opportunity. What are my options? What can I do?

A. Jason Velez · Accepted Answer

Nothing has legally happened yet. A job opportunity and a conversation are not a relocation, so you have time to get informed and prepared before anything is filed.

Florida has a specific law for this exact situation, called the parental relocation statute (Fla. Stat. § 61.13001). It applies whenever a parent wants to move more than 50 miles away from their current address for 60 or more consecutive days, which would clearly cover a move to Michigan. Under this law, he cannot simply move with your daughter or change the time-sharing schedule on his own. He needs one of two things: your written, signed agreement, which must include an agreed time-sharing schedule and transportation arrangements for your daughter, or a court order.

If you don't agree, he would need to file a formal Petition to Relocate with the court and have it properly served on you. Once served, you generally have about 20 days to file a written, signed objection. If you don't object in time, the court can treat the move as unopposed, so this is not a deadline to let slip if it comes to that.

What you can do right now

1. Do not sign anything he presents informally, even something that sounds reasonable, without a family law attorney reviewing it first. 2. Ask him directly whether he intends to file a formal petition, and get a sense of the timeline, without agreeing to anything on the spot. 3. Start gathering your own documentation now: your current parenting plan, your involvement in your daughter's daily life, and your reasons for wanting her to stay close, since these are the kinds of things a court would weigh if this becomes contested. 4. Consult a family law attorney proactively, even before anything is filed, so you understand your position and are ready to respond quickly if a petition arrives.

If this does become a court matter, Florida judges weigh factors like your daughter's relationship with each of you, the reasons for the move, and whether a workable long-distance time-sharing schedule is realistic. This is general legal information, not legal advice. A Florida family law attorney can review your parenting plan and advise you on next steps.

What Are My Options If My Child's Father Wants to Relocate to Michigan?

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