Paillier

As if “move-away” cases were not tough enough, here we are faced with an international move-away case.

In the prototypical move-away case, Mom and Dad get divorced; Mom gets physical custody of Junior, and Dad gets visitation. Mom then decides to move far, far away, talcing Junior with her. At that point, if Mom is to keep custody, Dad cannot, as a practical matter, have visitation, and vice versa. The courts of this state resolve the dispute by determining whether, once Mom moves, it would be in the best interests of Junior for Mom to keep custody while Dad loses visitation, or for Dad to keep visitation while Mom loses custody (which would be given to Dad). (In re Marriage of LaMusga (2004) 32 Cal.4th 1072, 1078, 1087-1088 [ 12 Cal.Rptr.3d 356 , 88 P.3d 81 ].) If the court rules in favor of Dad, Mom then must decide whether she still wants to move, given that moving will mean losing custody. Of course, a third option would be to enjoin Mom from moving. However, it has been held that this would violate Mom’s federal constitutional right to travel. (In re Marriage of Fingert (1990) 221 Cal.App.3d 1575, 1581-1582 [ 271 Cal.Rptr. 389 ]; cf. In re Marriage of McGinnis…