A job in Tampa. Family in Miami. A remarriage two states away. Once a parenting plan exists or a case is pending, moving with a child is not a conversation — it is a statute. Section 61.13001, Florida Statutes, governs any parent’s move of 50 miles or more, and it is one of the few family statutes with hard deadlines at every step. We handle both sides of it: parents who need to relocate, and parents who need to stop one.
What counts as a relocation
The statute is triggered by a change of principal residence of at least 50 miles from the residence at the time of the last order (or pending case), lasting 60 consecutive days or more. Temporary absences for vacation, education, or a child’s health care do not count. A 45-mile move is outside the statute — though your parenting plan’s own terms may still have something to say about it.
Moving without an agreement or court order is the one unforced error this area punishes reliably: the court can order the child returned, hold the moving parent in contempt, and — worst of all — weigh the unauthorized move against that parent in the time-sharing case itself.
Path one: everyone agrees in writing
If both parents (and anyone else entitled to time-sharing) consent, the statute lets the family skip the fight: a written agreement that reflects the consent, sets out the new time-sharing schedule, and describes the transportation arrangements. The agreement is ratified by the court and becomes an enforceable order. Even in friendly moves, the drafting matters — a schedule that ignores flight costs, school calendars, or who drives to the halfway point is a future motion waiting to be filed.
Path two: the petition to relocate
Without consent, the parent who wants to move must serve a petition to relocate, signed under oath. The statute dictates its contents: the new address and phone number if known, the date of the proposed move, a detailed statement of the reasons (with the written job offer attached, if a job is the reason), a proposed post-relocation schedule and transportation plan, and the statutory notice telling the other parent exactly how — and how fast — to object. Petitions that miss required elements draw motions to dismiss, and this is a drafting statute: precision at the start is cheaper than repair later.
The 20 days that decide it
The other parent has 20 days after service to file a verified objection stating the factual basis for it and describing that parent’s involvement in the child’s life. Miss the window and the court may approve the relocation on the paperwork alone, without a hearing, unless the move is clearly not in the child’s best interests.
If a timely objection lands, the case moves on an expedited track: absent good cause, a hearing on a temporary relocation motion must be held within 30 days of filing, and once a notice for trial is filed, the trial itself within 90 days. Relocation cases are among the fastest-moving matters in family court — which means the side that prepared before filing usually holds the advantage all the way through.
No presumption — just the factors
Florida law creates no presumption for or against relocation. The court weighs the statutory best-interest factors: the child’s relationship with each parent and with siblings; the child’s age and needs; whether the relationship with the parent left behind can realistically be preserved — travel logistics, cost, and technology included; the child’s own preference, where age-appropriate; whether the move genuinely improves the family’s quality of life; each side’s reasons for seeking or opposing it; employment and economic circumstances; each party’s good faith; and any history of domestic violence or substance abuse. The relocating parent must prove the case first; if that burden is met, it shifts to the objecting parent to show the move is not in the child’s best interests.
Long-distance plans that actually work
When a relocation is allowed — or defeated in part — the schedule has to be rebuilt. School-year and summer blocks often flip; holidays get restructured; travel costs get allocated explicitly; virtual time-sharing gets written with specifics (days, times, platform, who ensures the child is available) rather than good intentions. A vague long-distance plan is unenforceable exactly when enforcement matters most. Where circumstances change later, the plan can be revisited through modification — or defended through a defense to one.
Relocation FAQs
The relocation statute is not triggered below 50 miles, so § 61.13001’s petition process does not apply. But your parenting plan’s own terms still control — many plans restrict school changes or contain their own notice provisions — and a move that disrupts the schedule can still draw a modification action. Read the plan before the moving truck comes.
Act fast. If the move violates § 61.13001 or your parenting plan, the court can order the child’s return, and the statute makes an unauthorized relocation a factor against the moving parent. An emergency or expedited motion is usually the right vehicle, and delay is read as acquiescence — every week you wait weakens the argument.
Yes — put it in a written agreement with the new schedule and transportation arrangements and have the court ratify it. A handshake deal leaves the moving parent technically in violation and the staying parent without an enforceable long-distance schedule. Ratification is fast when everyone agrees; skipping it helps no one.
It can be — there is no presumption either way. A concrete, documented opportunity (the statute wants the written job offer attached) that genuinely improves the family’s circumstances weighs in favor; the court balances it against the cost to the child’s relationship with the other parent. Vague plans and bad faith — moving to defeat the other parent’s time — weigh heavily the other way.
Yes. The statute provides for temporary relocation orders, and a hearing on a temporary motion must generally be held within 30 days. Temporary permission is not a guarantee of final permission — but as a practical matter, once a child is settled in a new school, unwinding a temporary move gets harder. Both sides should treat the temporary hearing as the main event.
Related services at Mack Law
Time-Sharing & Custody
Parenting plans under Florida’s 50/50 presumption — the framework every relocation case modifies.
Modification & Enforcement
Changing a parenting plan on substantial changed circumstances — and enforcing one that is ignored.
Defending a Modification
When the other parent wants to change the order — holding the schedule you rely on.
Divorce
Contested, uncontested, and complex divorce — the PEACE framework handled with financial command.
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Call (407) 749-1034 or request a confidential consultation*. Prompt responses, usually the same business day.
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This page describes Florida law in general terms as of its last update and is not legal advice about any specific situation. The governing statute is § 61.13001, Florida Statutes; deadlines stated (20-day objection, 30-day temporary hearing, 90-day trial setting) are those of the statute and can be affected by good cause, service issues, and court calendars.