Notice how lucrative it is for the parasite class too.
I know someone whose husband kicked over his six figure salary and went to work as what essentially is a janitor. The wife had an oppertunity to double her salary and provide a better environment for the children. She offered to find him another equal job if he would relocate with them. He refused and and the children continue stuck in a less than good environment. He has no attachments in the area...just plain bitter and mean.
Constitutional right to travel? That must be right after the separation of church and state amendment.
Oh my gosh, Dr. Laura would have a field day with this one! It's her biggest pet peeve and everyday people call her with this same exact situation. What should the mother in case one do: HAVE HER NEW HUSBAND FIND A JOB IN NEW YORK. When he married her he also agreed to the terms of the divorce. It's just too bad. The child is the one who suffers.
My husband and I are currently fighting one of these cases here in Illinois. We are trying to keep his 15 yr old daughter here. Her mother moved to Florida a few months ago and wants to move her there also... the mom's reason for moving? She wants her other two kids to be close to their father....her ex-husband. We should find out by the end of this month.
I am one of those who could benefit, financially, from moving. The area where I live with my two kids doesn't have many jobs available.
I have been looking for 2 1/2 years for a FT Permanent job with benefits.
My ex moved 12 hours away.
He has only chosen to see the kids once in almost 3 years.
He has only called them 4 times in 3 years.
But I still have to petition the courts before I can move, and before I can petition the courts, I have to have a ligitimate reason to do so. Like...a job waiting for me. Then the courts can take several weeks to several months to make the decision on whether I can move. What company is going to hire me and then be willing to wait that long before I can start work?
It's a mess. And just for the record...he was the one who ended the marriage. He ran off with the kids one day while I was at school (post secondary classes). Took me three weeks to find the kids! No calls, no letters, nothing to let me know the kids were still alive!
The one time I saw this issue come up, the Judge told the ex-husband that he couldn't keep his ex-wife from moving, but that the Judge would award him primary physical custody if she did. Ex-husband, now with a bachelor pad in the city and a 27-year-old girlfriend, starts to hem and haw. Judge then lets the wife move out to Seattle and take the kids. Ex-husband now spends $2,000 a month to fly his kids out for weekends...
If we had a system of Rebuttal Presumption of Joint Physical Custody (RPJPC) neither parent could move away.
The presumption SHOULD be that 2 parents actively involved with the children are better for the children. The presumption should be what is best for the children, not what is best for the parents.
After all, we see research after research that claims that children are better off with TWO parents parenting them. If that is true, our courts should make that the basis of custody decisions.
Furthermore, under our present systpem the presumption is that every break up should involve the court system. Why should it? Under RPJPC, custody issues would only go to court under two scenarios:
1. If one parent wants sole custody.
2. If one parent wants out of joint custody (doesn't want physical custody obligations at all).
In both those cases, the parent would have to prove to a court that his/her request was in the best interest of the child. Otherwise, RPJPC stands.
Under RPJPC, parents who split up would automatically both have physical custody of the children, which means that both parents are expected to financially support AND physcially care for the children on a daily basis .... equally being the default. But parents would have the option to work out their own divisions of financial support and hands-one care without the court's intervention, provided they can agree on something and stick with it. Only when the parents cannot cooperate to work out a mutually agreed upon plan to raise their children would they appeal to the courts for a ruling.
In this way, the courts could be largely out of custody issues, except where the parents explicitly bring the court into their affairs by asking for a custody ruling. That would include situations where one parent wants to move away.