Boca Raton Parental Relocation Lawyer
If you live in Boca Raton and either you or your child’s other parent is thinking about moving, the decision is not entirely yours to make alone. Williams & Varsegi, LLC is a boutique firm that practices exclusively in divorce and family law, representing parents throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Parkland, and Coral Springs. We handle relocation disputes for parents who want to move with their children and for parents who need to stop or condition a move.
A Boca Raton parental relocation lawyer matters because Florida treats this as a defined legal event, not a matter of preference. Once a parenting plan or time-sharing order is in place, a move of 50 miles or more from the prior residence, lasting at least 60 consecutive days, is a “relocation” under Florida law. Trips for vacation, school, or a child’s medical care do not count. Move from Boca Raton to Orlando, Atlanta, or New York, and you are inside the statute. Move from Boca Raton to Fort Lauderdale, and you probably are not.
The rules come with short deadlines. A parent who receives a petition to relocate has only 20 days after service to file a written objection. Miss that window and the court can treat the relocation as unopposed. Many of the hardest decisions in these cases are made in the first few weeks.
What Florida Law Counts as a Relocation, and What It Does Not
The 50-mile measure runs from the parent’s prior principal residence, and the move must last at least 60 consecutive days. That definition leaves real room for argument. A parent who takes a “temporary” job assignment in another state for four months may technically be relocating. A parent who moves 45 miles away is not subject to the statute at all, even if the practical effect on the child’s school week is significant. Disputes often turn on where the old residence ends and the new one begins, and on whether a stay is genuinely temporary.
When both parents agree to the move, the process is straightforward. They can sign a written agreement that spells out the new time-sharing schedule and how transportation will work, and the court can ratify it. When they do not agree, the relocating parent must file a petition, and the other parent has the 20-day window to object in writing. If an objection is filed, the case moves quickly: a hearing on temporary relocation must occur within 30 days of the motion, and a nonjury trial within 90 days of the notice, unless the court finds good cause for delay.
That compressed timeline is one reason a divorce attorney with litigation experience matters here. Preparation that would normally stretch across several months has to be done in a matter of weeks.
Why Choose Williams & Varsegi, LLC for a Relocation Dispute
Williams & Varsegi, LLC practices only divorce and family law, with more than twenty years of experience serving clients in Boca Raton and across Palm Beach and Broward County. The firm’s attorneys, including Emerald Williams, Lawyer, and Katie, work directly with clients, so the person who knows your file is the person you reach when something changes. That matters in relocation cases, where a new job offer, a school enrollment date, or a lease deadline can shift the whole strategy.
Relocation fights are decided on evidence about a child’s daily life, and they are often litigated against a tight calendar. The firm brings extensive courtroom experience as skilled negotiators and experienced litigators, which means we can pursue a negotiated parenting plan when that serves you and try the case when it does not. Clients describe the team as responsive and knowledgeable, and the firm carries a 5-star rating from client reviews. Where a case involves a parent’s business, a physician’s practice, or a public-sector career with pension and benefit implications, we work with forensic accountants, business valuators, and other experts so the financial side of the move is documented rather than assumed.
Issues That Decide a Parental Relocation Case
- Time-Sharing Schedule After the Move: A move across the state or country usually means the existing schedule cannot continue. The central question is what replaces it, whether that is extended summer blocks, alternating holidays, or a schedule built around school breaks, and who pays for travel.
- The Child’s Best Interests: The court evaluates the relocation through the child’s welfare, including the child’s ties to school, extended family, and community, and the reasons for the move. A relocating parent must show the move serves the child, not just the parent.
- Equal Time-Sharing Presumption: Florida law now presumes equal time-sharing is in a child’s best interests. A parent who already exercises close to half of the overnights may face a harder road when seeking to move, because the move would disturb a schedule the law presumes is healthy.
- Job Offers and Financial Motivation: Relocation often rests on employment, a lower cost of living, or family support. The strength of that reason, and whether comparable work exists locally, can influence how persuasive the request appears.
- Child Support Recalculation: A new schedule changes the overnight count, which changes the guideline calculation. Parents who exercise at least 20 percent of overnights, roughly 73 nights a year, receive a time-sharing adjustment, so shifting below that line can alter support materially. Higher-income households also face the formula’s treatment of combined net income above the top of the schedule.
- Modifying an Existing Parenting Plan: Changing a parenting plan or schedule requires a substantial and material change in circumstances. A relocation request often becomes the trigger for that modification, and the Legislature has removed the old “unanticipated” requirement from the test.
- Temporary Relocation Orders: A parent may ask the court to allow the child to move pending trial. Because the 30-day hearing window is short, the evidence for or against temporary relocation has to be assembled almost immediately.
- Cases Involving Safety Concerns: Where domestic violence is alleged, a petition for an injunction can be filed whether or not another case is pending. That petition may bear on where and with whom a child can safely live.
What to Do Now if a Move Is Being Planned or Proposed
The first step depends on which side of the move you are on. If you are the parent who wants to relocate, do not move the child before you have either a signed agreement with the other parent or a court order. Moving first, even with a good reason, can damage credibility and may be treated as a violation of the existing parenting plan. Gather the documents that explain the reason for the move: a written job offer, school enrollment information, housing details, and a proposed time-sharing schedule showing how the other parent will keep a meaningful relationship with the child. A realistic transportation plan, including who pays and who travels, carries real weight with a judge.
If you are the parent who has been served with a petition to relocate, the 20-day deadline for a written, filed, and served objection is the most important date on your calendar. Calling an attorney immediately is not a formality here. An objection that is late, oral, or never served can forfeit your ability to contest the move at all. Start preserving evidence of your own involvement: school records, medical appointments you attended, communications about the child’s routine, and anything showing the child’s ties to Boca Raton and the surrounding community.
Cases from Boca Raton and the surrounding Palm Beach County communities are heard in the Family Court division of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. Families in Broward County, including Coral Springs and Parkland, fall under the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Palm Beach County residents can file at the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach, which accepts family court cases. Appeals from either circuit go to Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach. Because the rules differ by circuit in procedure and local practice, it helps to work with lawyers who regularly appear in these courts.
Be careful about what you say in text messages and on social media. Statements about “taking the kids” or “leaving as soon as the lease is up” often surface in hearings. Also expect mediation, which Florida courts commonly use before trial, and which gives parents a chance to settle on a long-distance schedule without a judge choosing for them. Mediation is often where the best outcomes are reached, but only if you have prepared your position in advance.
Relocation and the Divorce Itself
Relocation questions do not wait for a divorce to finish. A parent considering a move while a divorce is pending needs to know that, until a parenting plan is in place, the court has not yet fixed the schedule against which a move is measured, and that moving mid-case can shape the plan the court eventually adopts. For couples with substantial assets, the relocation question also intersects with property division. Whether to sell the marital home, buy out a spouse’s interest, or keep the house until a child finishes school affects where each parent can realistically live.
For families who prefer to resolve the matter without a trial, collaborative divorce and mediation can produce a parenting plan with a built-in relocation clause, setting terms in advance for how a future move would be handled. That kind of planning, completed during the divorce, is often cheaper and less combative than a relocation fight years later.
Questions Parents Ask About Relocation in Boca Raton
How far can I move without needing court permission?
Florida’s relocation statute applies to moves of at least 50 miles from your prior residence that last at least 60 consecutive days. A move under that distance generally does not trigger the statute, though it can still affect time-sharing and may support a request to modify the schedule.
Do I need the other parent’s consent to move with my child?
If the other parent agrees in writing to the move and to a revised time-sharing schedule, the court can approve the agreement. If there is no agreement, you must file a petition to relocate and obtain a court ruling before moving the child.
How long do I have to object to a relocation petition?
You have 20 days after being served with the petition to file a written objection and serve it on the other parent. Failing to do so can allow the court to treat the relocation as unopposed.
How fast does a relocation case move?
Quickly. A hearing on temporary relocation must be held within 30 days of the motion, and a nonjury trial within 90 days of the notice, absent good cause for delay. That pace leaves little time to prepare.
What does the court actually look at when deciding?
The court focuses on the child’s best interests. That includes the child’s relationship with each parent, ties to school and community, the reasons for the move, and whether a workable long-distance schedule can preserve the other parent’s relationship.
Does the equal time-sharing presumption make relocation harder?
It can. Florida law presumes equal time-sharing is in a child’s best interests, so a parent who currently shares time roughly evenly faces a stronger objection to a move that would break that arrangement. The presumption can be rebutted, but the argument has to be made with evidence.
What happens to child support if my child moves to another state?
The support amount is recalculated based on the new schedule. Overnight counts, travel costs, and each parent’s net income feed into the guideline calculation, and the guideline presumptively sets the amount. A change in time-sharing that brings one parent above or below roughly 73 overnights a year can shift the numbers meaningfully.
Can I move temporarily while the case is pending?
Only if the court authorizes it. A temporary relocation hearing is held within 30 days of the motion, and the judge decides whether the child may move before the final trial. Moving without that authorization risks sanctions and weakens your position.
Will a move affect an existing parenting plan I already agreed to?
Yes. A relocation almost always requires revising the plan, and changing a plan requires showing a substantial and material change in circumstances. Because the Legislature eliminated the “unanticipated” requirement, parents have more room to argue that a move qualifies.
What if the other parent threatens to leave with the children?
Do not respond by leaving or hiding the child yourself. Document the threat, consult an attorney immediately, and ask the court for relief. If safety is a concern, a domestic violence injunction petition can be filed, and the court sets a hearing at the earliest possible time.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer if the other parent seems willing to agree?
Often yes. An informal agreement is not enforceable until the court approves it, and a poorly drafted schedule can leave out holidays, transportation costs, or a way to resolve future disputes. Having an attorney review or draft the agreement is usually far less expensive than fixing a vague one later.
Serving Relocation Clients Throughout Palm Beach and Broward County
Williams & Varsegi, LLC represents parents in Boca Raton and across Palm Beach County, from Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Highland Beach, and Lake Worth through Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, and West Palm Beach, and north into Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter. The firm also serves families in Broward County, including Parkland, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Margate, Coconut Creek, and Fort Lauderdale. Whether a client is leaving South Florida or a parent is moving in from another state, our team handles relocation disputes with the same attention to the details that drive these cases.
Speak With a Boca Raton Relocation Attorney
A relocation case can be decided within a few months, and the deadlines begin the moment a petition is served. If you are planning a move or have been served with a petition, a conversation with a Boca Raton relocation attorney at Williams & Varsegi, LLC will help you understand where you stand and what to prepare first. Call to schedule a consultation, and we will build a plan around your child’s needs and your family’s circumstances.
