Ex wants to move with my child

My ex and I were never married, but have an 8 year old son together. We have an order in place (she has primary physical custody and we share joint legal custody). I have my son once a week for dinner and every other weekend and am involved in his life as much as I can be. I have never broken any of the rules we agreed upon in the order and even go above and beyond what is spelled out just to keep the peace. My ex, on the other hand, has broken the rules on numerous occasions and does not take the order seriously nor has she ever had any regard for my relationship with my son. I have yet to file paperwork to find her in contempt, as I have received advice to continue to build my case (rather than find her in contempt for every little infraction). My ideal situation would be to have primary physical custody of my son and I have been waiting for the opportune time to make my move. In the past few months she has mentioned that she may have to relocate to a city over 2 hours away because of her job. She, of course, plans to take my son with her. I do not agree with this move (as it will take my son away from me, my wife and his extended family, grandparents, etc. as well - who all live in our current city). Relocation is not addressed at all in our order. She barely communicates with me and has not said any more to me about the move, but when I dropped off my son after our last visitation, there was a “for sale” sign in their front yard. My question is: what can I do at this point? I want to prevent my son from being taken away to another city. Thanks in advance for your help.

I would suggest you file for a modification of custody based on her intention to relocate.

Thank you. What type of modification? And what is the process involved with that? Do I need an attorney to do so?

A motion to modify custody is when a party asks the court to change custody based on a substantial change in circumstances affecting the well being and best interests of the child. The move will affect your custodial schedule and your child’s relationship with the extended family.

The motion is filed and served and then set for trial. I would recommend you do hire an attorney to proceed with this action.