By Eryn Heidel 

Co-parenting after you have separated or divorced can be complicated. In some cases, you may have a shared parenting arrangement, where your child or children live with both parents roughly half of the time. In other cases, you may have a primary care arrangement, where your child or children live with one parent the majority of the time. Honest and open communication between co-parents is the key to a successful co-parenting relationship. 

Sometimes, a parent may want to move away for work or personal reasons and take the children with them. If the move would impact the other parent’s ability to exercise their regular parenting time, it is called a “relocation” and there are specific steps that must be taken before a parent may relocate with children. 

Federal and provincial law requires a parent who wishes to relocate with a child to give notice to any other person who has parenting time or decision-making responsibility. This notice must be in writing, and it must be given at least 60 calendar days before the relocation is expected to occur. In the case of parents who are divorced, the relocation notice must be in a specific form set out in regulations. 

The notice must include the following details:

• The name of the relocating person and the name(s) of the child or children that person proposes to relocate;
• The relocating person’s current address and current contact information;
• The expected date of the relocation;
• The address of the new place of residence and new contact information for the relocating person and the child or children;
• A proposal about how parenting time, decision-making responsibility, and contact time, could be exercised if the relocation occurs. 

Once notice is given, the person who intends to relocate may only do so if the other parent does not object to the relocation or if the relocation is authorized by a court. 

Within 30 days of receiving notice, the other parent may object to the proposed relocation by filing an application with the court to prohibit the relocation. If the other parent does not object to the proposed relocation, the parent who wishes to relocate may do so on or after the date originally proposed. 

Dealing with a proposed relocation can be stressful, whether you are the parent who wants to relocate or not. It is important to take the proper steps. If you need help, the family lawyers at Burchell MacDougall LLP are familiar with the requirements and processes and would be happy to assist you. 

This article is for information only and is not intended to be legal advice. If you have any questions or would like further information, you should consult a lawyer.