Enforcing a Custody Order After an Unauthorized Relocation

Attorney Answer

You can enforce your existing order by returning to the court that entered it, and Utah attorneys are permitted to take on limited-scope work — drafting your papers and coaching you for hearings — so you are not stuck choosing between full representation and going it alone. On the move itself, Utah's relocation-notice law is only triggered at 150 miles or more, so the first thing to pin down is the actual distance.

Under Utah Code § 81-9-209, a "relocation" that triggers the statutory notice obligation means moving 150 miles or more from the other parent's residence. Where it applies, the relocating parent must give written notice at least 60 days before the intended relocation, and that notice must affirm that the statutory or agreed parent-time provisions will be followed and that neither parent will interfere with the other's court-ordered parent-time. On a party's motion or the court's own motion, the court schedules a hearing to review the notice and the parent-time schedule. Your inquiry says she moved "150" without stating the unit — if the distance is under 150 miles, this particular notice requirement was never triggered at all, even though the move disrupted your routine, though your existing order may still address moves on its own terms.

The tax dependency exemption and the unresolved order to show cause are separate problems, tied to whether she is complying with your decree rather than to the relocation statute. Those are generally addressed by returning to the same court with a new or renewed enforcement motion, supported by the specific years and provisions at issue.

On the conflict of interest: if that attorney previously represented you, advised you, or had access to your confidential information relevant to this case, raise it directly and promptly. Courts can disqualify counsel in appropriate circumstances, but the analysis turns on what the prior relationship actually was and what information was shared, and delay itself can undercut the request.

What you can do

1. Confirm the actual distance of the move in miles, since that single fact determines whether the relocation-notice statute is even in play. 2. Gather your decree, the tax filings or IRS correspondence showing the exemption years at issue, and the prior order to show cause with whatever ruling followed it. 3. Put your concern about the opposing attorney's potential conflict in writing now, describing the prior relationship and the information involved, since delay can weaken the request. 4. Ask Utah attorneys directly about limited-scope (unbundled) representation for specific tasks — drafting your motion, preparing exhibits, or coaching you for the hearing — and about the Utah courts' self-help resources and approved forms. 5. Sequence the issues rather than filing them piecemeal, since relocation, the exemption, and the enforcement history may be strongest presented together to one judge.