A parent in Pennsylvania cannot relocate with a child under a custody order by simply announcing the move. State law requires formal written notice, specific content and strict timing and those rules can affect whether the relocation goes forward.
The notice must include specific information
Pennsylvania law requires the relocating parent to send notice in writing to each person who has custody rights. The parent generally must send that notice through certified mail and request proof of delivery.
The required information generally includes:
- The new home address and mailing address
- A phone number for the new residence, if available
- The planned relocation date
- The reasons for the move
- An updated proposed custody schedule
- The name and address of the child’s new school, if known
Pennsylvania’s relocation procedure rule shows how detailed that notice process can be.
Timing rules can affect whether the move proceeds
In most cases, the parent planning to move must send the notice no fewer than 60 days before relocating. If that amount of advance notice cannot be given because the parent learned of the move too late, the parent generally must send notice no later than 10 days after receiving that information.
Those deadlines matter because courts may treat a late or defective notice as a serious problem. A relocation request can become harder to win if the parent does not follow the required process from the start.
The other parent can object within a short window
After receiving the notice, the other parent generally has a 30-day window to file the required objection with the court. That filing gives the court the chance to decide whether the relocation serves the child’s best interests.
Courts look at the child’s best interests
If a parent objects, the court may hold a hearing and weigh the factors set out in Pennsylvania custody law. Those factors can include the quality of the child’s relationship with each parent, the effect of the move on parenting time, the reasons for the relocation and any safety concerns.
The same facts that shape custody and parenting time disputes also shape the relocation analysis. A family law attorney can assess whether the notice met the legal standard and how the court may view the proposed move.
