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North Carolina Divorce Law Divorce and Separation Answers
1

Hi Ryan,

I have been the custodial parent for 3 years since the separation, with our son staying with him every other weekend. We do not have a custody agreement.

I am planning to move to a neighboring county which is about 35 minutes away (to Concord from South Charlotte) in June, and the father does not want me to leave the area. Since I’ve mentioned this, he is now saying he wants our son on every Wed and Thurs nights in addition to his every-other-weekend schedule.

My question is whether his having these additional nights could keep me from moving if he were to make an issue of the move with the courts? Is 35 minutes away considered a distance that would cause issues with his current or planned visitation schedule? I’ve offered to assist in the transportation if that makes a difference.

2

We never know what a judge will do because judges are people, but 35 minutes away doesn’t sound very far to me. It could affect his ability to transport the minor child to school. You don’t want the child in the car too long.

3

In that case, would I be able to then make an argument that we go back to the every-other-weekend schedule, especially since he would’ve only had the additional weeknights for a few months at best?

Or am I better off trying to stick to the original schedule altogether? (In other words, does a few months of having weeknight visits establish a new pattern)?