Changes in Requirements for Notices of Relocation
Indiana requires a relocating individual to provide notice prior to a planned relocation if they have a child who is the subject of a court order for custody, parenting time, visitation, or child support. Effective July 1, 2019, the requirements surrounding the process to relocate has changed to provide clearer guidance on when and how a notice of intent to relocate must be filed.
Prior to the amendment, the statutory requirements did not provide any exceptions to the need to file a notice of intent to relocate. This meant that a parent or grandparent who was moving down the street was required to file a notice of intent to relocate. The new requirements provide that a relocating individual is not required to file a notice of intent to relocate when:
the relocation has been addressed by a prior court order; and
the relocation will result in a decrease in the distance between the relocating individual and nonrelocating individual’s residence; or
the relocation results in an increase of not more than twenty (20) miles in the distance between the relocating individual’s residence and the non-relocating individual’s residence and the child will stay enrolled in the same school. This alleviates the need for a parent or grandparent to file a notice of intent to relocate if the relocation will have little impact on the child or the parties and it has been previously addressed.
Previously, a relocating individual was required to provide notice ninety (90) days prior to their planned relocation or provide notice within ten (10) days of learning of their relocation if they could not provide the ninety (90) day notice. The non-relocating individual had sixty (60) days after the notice of intent to relocate to file with the Court if they objected to the proposed relocation. The amendment now requires a relocating parent to provide notice thirty (30) days prior to their proposed relocation. The non relocating individual must file a response to the court within twenty (20) days to let the Court know whether they are objecting or not objecting to the proposed relocation. This is a less burdensome requirement for relocation notices as many individuals do not have ninety days’ notice of their relocation.
A major change in the amendment is that the law now requires notice of a relocation to be provided when a paternity affidavit has been executed. This requires parents who were never married but share a child in common (if a paternity affidavit has been executed) to file with the Clerk of the Court if either one of them intends to relocate, even if there has never been a court action pending over their child. This increases the legal protection for non-custodial parents of a child born to non-married parents.
It is important to understand the requirements for relocation if you have a child subject to a court order or a paternity affidavit has been executed. If you are working through the requirements of a relocation, contact the experienced attorneys at Slotegraaf Niehoff, P.C. to help you navigate that process.