Child Custody (Part II) - Coursework Example

Whether custodial parents should be able to move? Sur s The custody parent is a parent with whom the child spends the majority of time and who either soles physical custody of the child. The custody may be shared between the two parents or may be given to the more suitable parent singly – everything depends on agreements between parents. The problem arises when one of the custodial parents is going to move from the other one or when one party decides to relocate with his or her child to another area.

In such circumstances non-custodial parent will no longer have an opportunity to take part in day-to-day life of his or her child (Bruch & Bowermaster, 1996). Though if the custodial parent has to move away by any obstacles, even if he or she would have to live own child to another parent, this perhaps would separate the child from the parent with whom there was the closest bond. Thus, move-away cases are balancing acts - one parents upward mobility versus the others continuing contact with the child (Gottfried, 2002).

Anyway, this would cause trauma experience both for the separating spouses and the innocent children.Anyway, personally I consider that the custodial parents should be able to move away from the non-custodial. Happy parents are more likely to make happy and enjoyable lives for their children than discontent ones, as well as parent’s repressed desire to move will not benefit the child. That comes to be particularly true if we pay attention on the fact that almost always the child has stronger ties to custodial parent, so his psychological state depends on his parent’s mood.

Nevertheless, everything is not so simple, and while deciding whether to move away or not, both custodial and non-custodial parents should pay attention on the “child’s best interest” standard, as well as on the reason why the issue of moving arose. Often happens that custodial parents decide to move away because they need to return to their home state to take the family support system advantage or because of the job or remarriage necessitates (Bruch & Bowermaster, 1996). Thus the intention of the desire to move away is to improve child’s life and it cannot be reprehensible.

Moreover, in case if both parents are able to put the childs interests before their own, they may continue to co-parent effectively and reach an agreement how the moving parent will foster contact between the child and the other parent. An alternate visitation schedule can be created that continues and preserves the relationship between the child and the non-custodial parent. It should be also mentioned that the world gets smaller nowadays and moving cross-country, as well as virtual visitations with involving such tools as video-conferencing, web-cams and other wired technologies, has already became routine (Gottfried, 2002).

Thus in our modern mobile society it may be possible to honor a visitation schedule and still recognize a custodial parents right to move. In deciding between the two the beacon remains the best interest of the child (Gottfried, 2002). Perhaps it will mean that the child will get more positive impressions from both travelling adventures and the pleasure of reunion with his relatives on the other side of the country.ReferencesBruch, C. S., Bowermaster, J.M. (1996). The Relocation of Children and Custodial Parents: Public Policy, Past and Present.

Family Law Quarterly, 30.2, 245-303.Gottfried, S. (2002). Virtual Visitation: The Wave of the Future in Communication Between Children and Non-Custodial Parents in Relocation Cases. Family Law Quarterly, 36.3, 475-485.