Navarro

In In re Marriage of Burgess (1996) 13 Cal.4th 25, 28-29 [ 51 Cal.Rptr.2d 444 , 913 P.2d 473 ], we held that a parent seeking to relocate after dissolution of marriage is not required to establish that the move is “necessary” in order to be awarded physical custody of a minor child. Similarly, a parent who has been awarded physical custody of a child under an existing custody order also is not required to show that a proposed move is “necessary” and instead “ ‘has the right to change the residence of the child, subject to the power of the court to restrain a removal that would prejudice the rights or welfare of the child.’ (Fam. Code, § 7501.)” (Id. at p. 29.)

In the present case, the superior court ordered that primary physical custody of two minor children would be transferred from their mother to their father if their mother moved to Ohio. The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that if the custodial parent “has a good faith reason to move ... the custodial parent cannot be prevented, directly or indirectly, from exercising his or her right to change the child’s residence” unless the noncustodial parent makes a “substantial showing” that a change of custody is…

A mother who had been the primary caretaker of her two children since their birth, and who had never violated the trial court’s visitation orders, wanted to provide a better life for her children by moving with them to another state where she had relatives and where her new husband had accepted a better-paying job. Concerned that his tenuous relationship with the children would be weakened, the children’s father objected. After a hearing, the trial court ordered that custody of the children be transferred to the father in the event the mother moved. The majority holds the trial court did not abuse its discretion in so ruling. I disagree.

When it explained its ruling, the trial court said that moving the children to another state could damage the children’s relationship with their father, but the court never mentioned the potential harm to the children from losing their mother as their primary caretaker, despite undisputed evidence that this harm would be significant. The majority acknowledges that the trial court was required to consider this detriment—indeed it acknowledges “ ‘the paramount need for continuity and stability in custody arrangements’ ” (maj. opn., ante, *1102 at…