Can I Move With My Child?

If you have custody and want to move far enough that the other parent's schedule cannot continue, you need either the other parent's written consent or a court order. Moving without one is a violation of the custody order and can result in the child being returned and custody being changed. This page explains the standard the court applies and what wins and loses these cases.

What is the standard?

The Court of Appeals set the rule in Tropea v. Tropea in 1996. Relocation is decided on the best interests of the child, considering all of the relevant circumstances. There is no threshold test and no presumption for or against moving. The parent seeking to move has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the move is in the child's best interests.

The factors the court considers include the following.

• Each parent's reasons for seeking or opposing the move.
• The quality of the relationship between the child and each parent.
• The impact of the move on the quantity and quality of the child's future contact with the non-moving parent.
• The degree to which the moving parent's and the child's lives may be enhanced economically, emotionally, and educationally by the move.
• The feasibility of preserving the relationship with the non-moving parent through a revised schedule.
• The child's wishes, depending on age and maturity.
• The presence of extended family in either location.

The economic benefit of the move matters, but a better job for the parent does not by itself justify separating a child from the other parent. The court looks at whether the child's life will be better, not only the parent's.

What do the recent cases say?

The Second Department decided a run of relocation cases in 2025 and 2026 and the pattern is clear.

In April 2026, it affirmed the denial of a mother's application to move to Michigan because she failed to show that the move would enhance the child's life or that the father's relationship could be preserved.

In May 2026, in a Suffolk County case, it reversed an award of joint residential custody to a father who had already moved to Indiana and awarded primary residential custody to the mother in New York.

In May 2026, it affirmed the denial of a father's application to relocate to Guyana where the child was thriving in the other parent's stable care.

In April 2025, in another Suffolk County case, it reversed an award of custody to a father who had moved to Florida, giving weight to the children's expressed preference and the disruption the move would cause.

The lesson from these cases is that the moving parent has to prove a concrete benefit to the child, with evidence, and has to present a realistic plan for keeping the other parent involved. Vague testimony about better schools or a lower cost of living does not carry the burden.

How do I make a relocation case?

If you want to move, start building the record before you file. Gather evidence of the specific school the child would attend and how it compares, the housing, the job offer in writing, the family support in the new location, and the cost of travel. Propose a schedule that gives the other parent extended blocks of time during summers and school breaks, video contact during the week, and a plan for who pays for travel. Offer to bear the cost. Courts notice a parent who has thought about the other parent's relationship and they notice one who has not.

If you are opposing a move, the record is your involvement: the calendar of your parenting time, your attendance at school and medical appointments, and the child's ties to the community, school, and extended family here. Where the moving parent's real reason is a new relationship or a desire to get distance from you, the evidence of that usually exists in messages and social media.

What about moves within Long Island?

A move from Riverhead to Huntington, or from Suffolk to Nassau, is not usually a relocation case in the Tropea sense, but it can still require a modification of the schedule if the distance makes midweek time impractical, and a custody order or agreement may contain a radius clause that limits moves without consent. Read the agreement before you sign a lease.

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