Home > Research Legal Advice > Child Custody > Family law question - Need to take job out of town but terrified of cust...
Asked about 1 year ago - Los Angeles, CA
Flag
I got a job offer for an executive job in a different city. I have been looking for 2 years in my own town and have not had a single offer. My ex wife has reached a mediated divorce agreement and has agreed to permanent 50% / 50% joint custody with a temporary custody arrangement governing the time I am out of town. The mediator is working on the contract now.
My question is what happens when I move back in a year. Does she have any more legal standing to get the court to re-negotiate because I left for a year? Is giving her temporary sole custody tantamount to abandoning the kids? Am I giving up any rights to joint custody by leaving? What if she just refuses to drop them off when I come back?
Any child custody and visitation order is subject to be changed if the circumstances warrant it. You would have to trust her (and most people divorcing don't and/or shouldn't) that she will not haul you into court during that period to change the orders. The judge will do what is in the best interests of the child, and a child that has been with mom for a year and seeing dad very little is going to have their whole life disrupted when you come back and start asking for 50/50. Alot of the effect will depend on the age of the child and the circumstances, so to give you a definitive answer would not be possible. You are taking a risk, though. For further information, visit http://www.ellifritzlaw.com
Don't speak legalese? We define thousands of terms in plain English.
Browse our legal dictionary