Florida

Relocation and moving with a child in Florida Relocation and moving with a child in Florida

Relocation and moving with a child in Florida

Florida regulates parental relocation with a precision most states lack. Under Florida Statutes 61.13001, a parent may not relocate a child’s principal residence 50 miles or more for 60 consecutive days or longer without either a signed agreement from the other parent or a court order permitting the move. Vacations and temporary absences for education or health care do not count. Everything else within that definition runs through the statute, and a parent who moves first and asks later faces consequences that can include return of the child, contempt, and the move being held against them in every later determination.

The two lawful paths

Agreement: the parents (and anyone else entitled to time-sharing) sign a written agreement reflecting consent, a revised time-sharing schedule, and transportation arrangements. Ratified by the court, it becomes enforceable, and it is by far the cheaper path when a workable long-distance schedule can be designed.

Petition: absent agreement, the relocating parent must file and serve a petition to relocate containing statutorily specified detail, the new address, the date of the intended move, the reasons, and a proposed post-relocation schedule with transportation logistics. The other parent has a short window to object with specificity; an unopposed, compliant petition can be granted without a hearing, while an objection sends the case to an evidentiary determination.

How Florida courts decide contested relocations

There is no presumption for or against relocation. The relocating parent bears the initial burden of showing the move is in the child’s best interests, and the statute lists the factors: the child’s relationship with each parent, the child’s age and needs, the feasibility of preserving the relationship through substitute time-sharing and technology, the child’s preference where appropriate, the reasons for and against the move, economic and employment circumstances, good faith on both sides, and any history of substance abuse or violence. Specifics win: the relocating parent needs a complete, child-centered plan with real logistics and real costs; the opposing parent needs the concrete story of the child’s ties and what distance would actually erode.

Strategy notes from practice

Timing is leverage: relocation petitions move on statutory clocks, and preparation before filing, school research, housing, a genuinely generous proposed schedule, reads as good faith. Technology provisions, video calls, travel cost allocation, extended summer blocks, are not boilerplate; they are frequently what makes a court comfortable saying yes, or an objecting parent comfortable settling. And the 50-mile line is jurisdictional in feel but factual in application: measure carefully before assuming the statute does not apply.

Straight answers.

Does the 50-mile rule apply to moves within Florida?

Yes. The statute measures distance from the current principal residence, not state lines. A 60-mile move within Florida triggers it; a 40-mile move across the state line does not, though other consequences may follow.

What happens if a parent relocates without agreement or court order?

The court can order the child returned, treat the violation as a factor in modifying time-sharing, hold the parent in contempt, and weigh the noncompliance against them throughout the case.

Can my ex block my move even if I have majority time-sharing?

Your ex can object, which forces the court determination. Majority time-sharing helps your practical position but does not exempt you from the statute.