The short answer
You cannot simply move a child a significant distance after separation. In Canada, the Divorce Act requires 60 days written notice and lets the other parent object; the court then decides based on the child's best interests. US states have similar notice and consent rules. Plans that preserve the child's relationship with the other parent succeed far more often than plans that don't.
Relocation cases are the ones family lawyers describe as the hardest, because there is no compromise available. A child cannot live in two cities. One parent's legitimate reasons for moving collide with the other parent's legitimate right to a relationship with their child, and a judge has to choose. This guide explains the framework so that, whichever side you are on, you go in prepared.
What counts as relocation
Not every move is a relocation. Moving across town is a change of residence that may affect logistics but not the parenting arrangement. Relocation is a move that would have a significant impact on the child's relationship with the other parent or with people important in the child's life. In practice, anything that makes the current schedule unworkable, whether that is 200 kilometres or another country, will be treated as a relocation.
Canada: the Divorce Act framework
Since March 2021, the federal Divorce Act sets out a detailed process for divorced or divorcing parents. Provincial statutes, including Ontario's Children's Law Reform Act and BC's Family Law Act, have adopted very similar rules for unmarried parents.
Notice
A parent who wants to relocate must give at least 60 days written notice to anyone with parenting time or decision-making responsibility. The notice must state the expected date, the new address, and a proposal for how parenting time and decision-making will work after the move. There are prescribed forms. Courts can waive the notice requirement where there is family violence.
Objection
The other parent has 30 days to object, either using the prescribed form or by starting a court application. If they do not object in time and there is no existing order prohibiting the move, the relocation can proceed. If they object, the move cannot happen until a court authorises it or the parents agree.
Burden of proof
This is the part that shapes strategy. If the child spends substantially equal time with each parent, the relocating parent must show the move is in the child's best interests. If the child spends the vast majority of time with the relocating parent, the objecting parent must show it is not. Anywhere in between, each parent bears the burden of proving their own position.
What the court considers
The general best-interests factors, plus relocation-specific ones:
- The reasons for the relocation
- The impact on the child
- The amount of time each parent spends with the child and the level of involvement of each
- Whether the relocating parent complied with the notice requirement
- Any existing order or agreement that specifies where the child is to live
- The reasonableness of the relocating parent's proposal to preserve the relationship with the other parent
- Whether each parent has complied with their existing obligations
One rule is explicit: the court may not consider whether the relocating parent would move without the child. The "would you go anyway" question, once a staple of cross-examination, is off the table.
United States
Every state regulates relocation, and the details differ. Most require written notice, commonly 30 to 90 days, with an opportunity for the other parent to object. Some states presume that a custodial parent's move is permitted absent a showing of harm; others require the moving parent to prove a legitimate purpose and that the move is in the child's best interests; a number apply a balancing test drawn from cases such as New Jersey's Baures v. Lewis and its successors. Where parents share physical custody roughly equally, most states make it harder to move.
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act governs which state's court has authority, which matters if the move is interstate. A parent who moves first and asks later risks an order returning the child and a serious loss of credibility.
If you want to move
Build the case around the child, not you
Better schools, closer extended family, lower cost of living, a job that means more stability at home: these are the child's interests. A new relationship or a fresh start are your interests, and courts weigh them accordingly.
Make the other parent's relationship survivable
The single most important part of a relocation proposal is the plan for the other parent. Longer blocks in summer and school holidays, regular video contact, a share of travel costs, an adjustment to child support to reflect the other parent's travel expenses, and a commitment to fly the child back for key events. Proposals that treat the other parent as an afterthought fail.
Follow the process exactly
Give proper notice, in the prescribed form, well ahead of any commitment. Do not sign a lease or accept a job that requires a move before you have consent or an order. Compliance is one of the listed factors and judges notice.
If you want to oppose a move
Object in time and in the right form. Then focus your evidence on your actual involvement: school pickups, medical appointments, activities, overnights, the routines you and the child share. Vague claims about being a good parent carry little weight; a calendar showing three years of Tuesday-night dinners carries a lot. Consider what alternative you can offer: could the child stay with you, and what would that look like day to day?
Negotiated relocations
Many relocations settle. The moving parent gives up something (a longer summer block, a bigger share of travel, a reduction in support) in exchange for consent. FairWell's Parenting Plan Builder includes a long-distance parenting schedule module and a relocation clause that sets out notice, consent and dispute resolution, so the framework exists before anyone wants to move.
International moves
Both Canada and the US are parties to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. A child taken abroad without consent or a court order can be ordered returned. If you are contemplating a move to another country, get legal advice before any planning becomes visible.
Common questions
How far can I move without permission?
There is no fixed distance. The test is whether the move significantly affects the child's relationship with the other parent. If it makes the current schedule unworkable, treat it as a relocation and give notice.
Can my ex stop me from moving?
They can object, and if they do you cannot relocate with the child until a court authorises it or you reach an agreement. They cannot stop you from moving yourself.
Who pays the travel costs after a relocation?
Courts and agreements often allocate travel costs between the parents, sometimes in proportion to income and sometimes weighted toward the parent who chose to move.
What if there is family violence?
Courts can waive or modify the notice requirement so that an abusive parent does not receive the new address. Get advice before giving notice.
Build a parenting plan with a relocation clause
The Parenting Plan Builder includes notice, consent and long-distance schedule provisions so a future move is handled by agreement, not by crisis.
Build a parenting planThis guide is legal information, not legal advice, and it is written for a general audience across Canada and the United States. Family law is provincial and state-based and changes over time. Before you rely on anything here for your own situation, confirm it with a qualified family lawyer in your province or state. FairWell can connect you with one through the professional directory.