Tuesday, May 19, 2009

A LITTLE LEGAL KNOW FROM JOE.....

Hello to all readers, my name is Joe Riccio and I am an attorney here at the Willick Law Group. I am going to make it a point every now and then to drop a blog entry here for a little basic "legal know."

I want to discuss NRS 125C.200, Consent required from noncustodial parent to remove child from State; permission from court; change of custody.

For those of you who may be:

1. Married or in a relationship?;2. Have a child or children stemming from that relationship?;3. Both live in Nevada?;4. One of you now wants to move out of the State of Nevada, and the other wants to stay?; and5. Is there a Court Order for custody that has already been established?

If you answered yes to these questions, then you may be asking yourself either - What do you do? What can you do? What does the law say? If you are the moving parent, can you leave? If you are the non-moving parent, can you object to the move?

According to NRS 125C.200, if custody has been established and the custodial parent intends to move his residence to a place outside of this State and to take the child with him, he must, as soon as possible and before the planned move, attempt to obtain the written consent of the noncustodial parent to move the child from this State. If the noncustodial parent refuses to give that consent, the custodial parent shall, before he leaves this State with the child, petition the court for permission to move the child. The failure of a parent to comply with the provisions of this section may be considered as a factor if a change of custody is requested by the noncustodial parent.
Based on this statute, it is clear that a Motion for Relocation (permission from the court to move out of State) is required ONLY when an Order ALREADY exists in the case (detailing custody/visitation), and the moving parent wants to leave Nevada to the objection of the non-moving parent. However, if the non-moving parent does not object, a Motion to Relocate is not required, and written consent will suffice.

Again, this rule applies ONLY when there is an existing Order in the case dealing with custody/visitation.

So then begs the question of what to do when 1-5 (listed above) apply to you, but number 6 does not (because a Court Order does not exist). Is a Motion for Relocation Necessary? Required?

I believe the answer to both of those questions is NO. If a Court Order does NOT exist for custody/visitation purposes, then the court is merely left with a custody determination and/or visitation schedule at that point - not a Motion for Relocation. It is not proper in the absence of a Court Order pursuant to NRS 125C.200 to file a Motion for Relocation when a Court Order has failed to be established.

Now, your in the know.

Thanks,

Joe Riccio, Esq.