Relocation to new state

My wife and I are still negotiating the details of all aspects of our divorce, in particular custody of our minor children. Initially she was willing to agree to sharing custody 50/50 but now is arguing that she should have 75% custody with me getting 25%. She is also talking about moving out of state in the next year (this is a new development!) I am not comfortable with 75/25 and was really hoping for 50/50. However, because of my present work schedule it would be challenging for me to do 50/50, so for now I would be willing to accept something closer to 60/40 as long as we could revisit 50/50 at some point in the future when I am able to adjust my schedule. I believe the only reason she is now demanding more custody of the children is because she believes as the main custodial parent she will be able to move out of state and take the children with her.

I have searched extensively online to find out what would be required for my wife to remove our children from the state but can’t seem to find anything helpful. What can/should I do to ensure that she cannot do this. If I agree to 60/40 custody does this some how give her an advantage to being able to relocate to a new state with our girls? Can you point me to any information that might be helpful?

Thank you!

You can put specific provisions regarding relocation in any order or agreement you come to, but there is really no fail safe way to keep one party from filing a motion to modify. You will need to balance your desire to revisit the custody schedule when your schedule allows 50/50 custody versus entering a permanent order to keep her from relocating with the children without court approval. This is a delicate situation, and I believe you would be best served by having a consultation to discuss your options in detail with an attorney.