Miami Child Relocation Attorney

Florida’s Child Relocation Law Explained

Florida treats relocation differently from an ordinary move across town. Under Section 61.13001, “relocation” generally means moving at least 50 miles away from your current home for 60 consecutive days or more — not counting a temporary trip for vacation, education, or medical care. If there’s already a custody order or time-sharing schedule in place, you can’t just pack up and go. You either need a written agreement signed by both parents, or you have to file a petition and let the court decide.

The written-agreement route is the smoother one. When both parents consent, you sign an agreement that reflects the new time-sharing plan and, ideally, get it ratified by the court so it’s enforceable. When the other parent objects, the case becomes contested — and that’s where the real work begins.

Petitioning to Relocate With Your Child

If you’re the parent who wants to move, the law asks you to do more than say you’d like a fresh start. A petition to relocate has to be specific. It needs to spell out where you’re going, why, the date you intend to move, and a proposed revised time-sharing schedule that shows how the other parent will still stay meaningfully involved in your child’s life. That last part matters more than people expect. Judges want to see a realistic parenting plan — travel arrangements, holiday splits, video calls, who pays for the flights — not a vague promise to “figure it out later.”

This is where our custody and time-sharing work comes in. A relocation almost always requires a rebuilt parenting plan, and we help draft one that answers the questions a judge will ask before those questions ever come up in court. Whether you’re relocating from North Miami for a career move or leaving Kendall to be closer to family, we build the record you’ll need to support your request. We don’t promise outcomes — no honest attorney can — but we make sure your side is presented completely.

Opposing a Co-Parent’s Relocation Petition

If you’ve been served with a relocation petition, the clock is already running. In most cases you have 20 days to file a written objection — and if you miss that window, the court can allow the relocation without a hearing at all. That’s the part that catches parents off guard. Silence can be read as agreement.

Your objection has to be more than “no.” It needs to state the reasons you’re opposing the move and address why staying is in your child’s best interest. That takes evidence, and evidence takes time to gather. This is one of the reasons we keep our phones answered around the clock. When you call Reynoso Erickson Trial Law, a lawyer takes your call — not a receptionist — and consultations are free, seven days a week, day or night. If you found out on a Friday evening that your co-parent filed to move, you shouldn’t have to wait until Monday to start protecting your time.

Call us at (305) 315-5147 as soon as you’ve been notified — the sooner we start, the more room we have to build your response.

How Judges Decide: Best Interests Factors

Contested relocation cases come down to the best interests of the child, and Florida law gives judges a list of factors to weigh. They look at the child’s relationship with each parent, the child’s age and needs, whether the move will improve the family’s quality of life, the reasons behind the request and behind the objection, and whether a workable long-distance schedule is even possible. Nobody gets a presumption in their favor — the parent asking to relocate carries the burden, but the objecting parent has to back up their objection too.

What decides these cases is evidence presented at a hearing: financial records, school information, testimony about the child’s day-to-day life, sometimes expert input. Because these disputes are resolved by a judge weighing proof, we prepare every case as if it’s going to trial from the very first meeting. Attorneys Luis E. Reynoso and Robert M. Erickson bring more than 25 years of combined trial experience to that work, and it shows in how thoroughly the record gets built.

When a Parent Moves Without Permission

Here’s the honest advice for both sides. If you’re tempted to move first and ask later, don’t. Relocating with your child without a written agreement or court approval violates Florida’s relocation statute and can be used against you — the court can order the child returned and can factor your decision into future custody rulings.

And if your co-parent has already left with your child, you’re not out of options. Our enforcement and contempt practice exists for exactly this — compelling compliance with time-sharing orders when the other parent ignores them. Depending on the situation, we may also pursue a modification of the existing order. The right move is almost never to react in kind. It’s to document what happened and get it in front of the court quickly.

Out-of-State and International Relocation Cases

Miami relocation cases cross borders more than most. Parents move to another state for work, or back to family in another country, and that adds layers a routine cross-town move never has. We offer full Spanish-language service, and we keep immigration attorneys on standby to coordinate when a parent’s immigration status or a child’s citizenship is part of the picture. That kind of coordination matters for families in communities like Hialeah, Aventura, and Miami Beach, where international ties are common. These cases carry extra complexity, and we handle them with that reality in mind from the start.

Why Choose Reynoso Erickson for Relocation

Relocation isn’t a side offering for us — it lives inside a family law practice built by two seasoned trial attorneys. Luis E. Reynoso and Robert M. Erickson have appeared in Miami-Dade family court and know how these hearings actually unfold. When you reach out, you talk to a lawyer, not a call center, and you can reach us 24 hours a day, every day of the week. We speak English and Spanish, and our office at 1801 NE 123rd St, Suite 314 in North Miami is easy to get to from Coral Gables, Aventura, and the surrounding area. We won’t quote you a result we can’t guarantee. What we will do is prepare your case as if it’s headed to trial, because in a contested relocation, it very well may be.