Ruisi

We have consolidated two appeals arising from the same child custody dispute. The first appeal comes to us after the trial court denied the mother’s motion to modify the existing child custody order to enable her to relocate to Rhode Island with the child. We remand the matter to the trial court for reconsideration in light of In re Marriage of Burgess (1996) 13 Cal.4th 25 [ 51 Cal.Rptr.2d 444 , 913 P.2d 473 ].

In the second appeal the question is whether the trial court erred in referring to a special master issues pertaining to implementation of the custody orders. We conclude the issues were not proper ones for reference in the absence of the parties’ consent, and we reverse the order.

Facts

Paula Ruisi and Charles (Kip) Thieriot were divorced in 1984. (Hereafter, we will refer to the parties as Paula and Kip, the designations used by the parties themselves in their briefs.) They are the parents of one child, Rhys, bom in 1985.

In 1986 the parties entered into a parenting agreement, which was incorporated into a judgment within the paternity action. The agreement provided for joint legal custody and for “shared physical parenting” as follows: Rhys’s primary care…