Florida law changed again with respect to relocating a child during & after divorce. Conceding that the law was not working, the Florida Legislature made 8 major revisions to the law and procedure regarding moving a child after divorce (or while one is pending for that matter).
Here are the 8 major changes:
1. The law and procedure of 61.13001 applies when the other parent is entitled to access or time-sharing with the child.
2. The relocation must be at least 50 miles away and for more than 60 days. The measure is from the last residence when an order was issued or when the pending action was filed.
3. There is no pre-filing notice required anymore. The existing procedure required a complicated notice system. Now you file and serve a petition for relocation that has everything in it required by Florida Statute 61.13001(3). Of course, you can still do it by agreement.
4. The time to respond to the petition for relocation is now 20 not 30 days.
5. The petition has to be served just like the divorce or you can send it via restricted delivery, return-receipt.
6. If no timely answer is filed objecting to the relocation, it will be presumed to be in the child's best interest and the court can issue an order adopting the proposed revised time sharing schedule without a hearing.
7. There are new time frames. If a motion for temporary relocation is filed, the temporary hearing has to be held in 30 days (unless there is good cause) and the final trial must be within 90 days.
8. The changes become effective on October 1, 2009 and applies to all existing cases and to all new cases filed afterward, unless there is an order that expressly governs relocation of the children.
When you represent yourself in a Florida divorce case, you need to stay on top of all the legal requirements. The Divorce Professor's Crash Course on Florida Divorce Law & Procedure provides you with all the up-to-date information and forms that you need to represent yourself in a Florida divorce and do it right.
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