Generally speaking, no Court Order is required for the sole physical custodian to move the residence of children within the State of Minnesota. However, if the move as a practical matter would necessitate a change in the court-ordered parenting time schedule, or if the parties have joint legal custody and the move would involve a change of schools, then it would be very unwise to make the move without first resolving the necessary choice-of-school and parenting time schedule issues, as you could be punished for acting unilaterally on these related issues.

If the parties have joint physical custody, and the move would effectively prohibit a joint physical custody shared-parenting arrangement, then a motion would be required before the move could take place. If the proposed move would necessitate a substantial change to the allocation of parenting time, the movant would need to meet the same strict standard required for custody modification in order to receive the court’s permission.

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS NOT ADVICE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CASE. ALSO, THIS INFORMATION APPLIES ONLY TO MINNESOTA LAW, AND NOT TO THE LAW OF ANY OTHER STATE OR COUNTRY.