Relocation disputes are among the most combustible issues in Texas family courts. A move that looks like a fresh start to one parent can read as a loss of access to the other. Judges know that a change of address can disrupt school, health care, extracurriculars, and, most importantly, the rhythm of a child’s relationship with each parent. If there is a standing order that sets a geographic restriction or visitation schedule, ignoring it can land you in contempt. I have seen intelligent, well‑meaning parents back themselves into a corner because they believed a handshake agreement or a “temporary” move would be excused later. It rarely is.
The good news: with planning, documentation, and the right timing, you can relocate or oppose a relocation without jeopardizing your case or your freedom. Texas law gives judges wide discretion, but it also provides guardrails. Navigating them takes discipline. Here is how to avoid contempt while protecting your child and your rights.
What contempt means in a Texas family case
Contempt is not simply a scolding from the bench. It is a finding that you knowingly violated a court order. Texas courts can impose fines, attorneys’ fees, make‑up time for the other parent, changes in custody, and, in serious cases, jail time up to six months for criminal contempt or confinement until you comply with civil contempt remedies. A contempt finding can also haunt you when you later ask to modify custody or child support. Judges remember who respects their orders.
In relocation disputes, contempt most often arises when a parent:
- Moves outside a geographic restriction without court approval. Unilaterally changes the child’s school or residence, disrupting the other parent’s possession time. Withholds possession to facilitate a move or a new schedule. Fails to disclose a planned move in time for the other parent to be heard.
Geographic restrictions in Texas are common. Many final orders tie a child’s residence to a county such as Harris, Travis, or Dallas, sometimes including contiguous counties. If you are the primary conservator and there is a restriction, you cannot move the child’s primary residence outside the defined area without either the other parent’s written agreement filed with the court or a written court order.
The legal frame judges use
Texas family courts start from the best interest of the child. That standard is broad by design, but over the years certain factors recur:
- The quality and stability of each parent’s home. Each parent’s involvement in daily care, schooling, and health decisions. The child’s ties to school, community, and extended family. The feasibility of preserving frequent and continuing contact with both parents. The reasons for the move: a significant job opportunity, remarriage, proximity to supportive family, or, on the other side, an attempt to frustrate access. The child’s age and, once mature enough, stated preferences. Any history of family violence, substance abuse, or interference with possession.
When you ask to modify a geographic restriction, you must show a material and substantial change in circumstances since the last order and that the modification is in the child’s best interest. A new job that doubles your income or a spouse’s military transfer often qualifies. A general desire for a new start rarely carries high net worth divorce the day by itself.
Timing and interim protection
Most contempt traps spring from poor timing. If you need to relocate by August for a job that starts after Labor Day and you file in late July, you have built yourself a problem. Courts need calendars cleared, notice given, and sometimes a social study. That takes weeks, sometimes months.
If time is short and the other parent will not agree, file a petition to modify and seek temporary orders. Temporary orders can:
- Permit a move within defined limits while the case is pending. Adjust possession schedules to preserve access, including extended summer and holiday periods. Set interim child support or travel cost sharing. Clarify communication expectations, including virtual visitation.
When you file, ask for a temporary restraining order if you fear interference or flight, but be careful not to overreach. Judges are wary of parents who use restraining orders as leverage rather than to preserve the status quo.
If you are opposing a move, do not wait to appear. Attend the temporary hearing, bring documentation, and propose workable alternatives that preserve your access and your child’s stability. Judges reward parents who offer solutions, not just objections.
The difference between agreement and enforceable agreement
Parents sometimes reach a verbal deal to accommodate a move. I have no issue with parents cooperating. I do have an issue when they rely on handshakes in a formal legal system. If the current order has a geographic restriction, a private agreement is not a defense to contempt. Reduce any agreement to writing and file it as an agreed order for the judge to sign. Until then, the old order controls.
When drafting an agreed order, include specifics:
- The new residence area, not just a street address, with flexibility if housing changes. Precise possession exchanges, including which airport, which gate, which parent buys tickets, and how far in advance. Cost sharing for travel and rules for scheduling flights around school and activities. Virtual visitation parameters: platform, frequency, start times, and duration. Notice requirements for future relocations.
If the other parent’s consent is conditional, capture those conditions on paper. If it is truly temporary, embed a review date or a triggered reversion clause.
The paperwork that saves you
In relocation cases, judges measure credibility with documents. Emails, offer letters, school records, lease proposals, medical provider lists, and travel budgets carry weight. So do calendars that show who handled pickup, homework, and doctor visits over the last year. If your reason to move is a job, produce the offer letter and the compensation details. If it is family support, show names, addresses, and how that support translates to daily life. If it is a child’s special program elsewhere, show admission, the program’s schedule, and why local options are inferior.
On the defense side, gather evidence of your involvement: coaching, tutoring, therapy attendance, regular pickups. Show what your weekly schedule looks like now and how a move would convert you from a parent into a visitor. If the other parent has withheld possession or used exchanges to control you, bring those messages. A child custody attorney will help you decide what belongs in evidence and what creates unnecessary noise.
How judges view motive and conduct
Motive matters. A move after earnest negotiation, with notice, proposed alternatives, and a back‑up plan if the court says no, reads differently than a move announced by text after the U‑Haul is loaded. I once represented a father who opposed a relocation to El Paso from Houston. The mother had a legitimate offer, but she also had a pattern of late exchanges and missed calls. The judge split the baby: allowed the move on the condition of extended summer possession, alternating major holidays, and a strict virtual visitation schedule with enforceable start times. When the mother later flouted those calls, the court had a record and pivoted to reverse the designation of primary conservator. Not because she moved, but because she ignored orders. Do not give the court that ammunition.
By contrast, a client who wanted to move to Austin presented a robust plan: job offer details, a rental secured near a specific school, a childcare plan, and a budget to shoulder two‑thirds of travel costs. She also proposed that the father have every long weekend and six uninterrupted summer weeks. She notified him three months in advance and kept possession exchanges spotless. The judge granted the relocation with temporary safeguards while a social study played out. Professional conduct moves outcomes.
Practical steps to avoid contempt before you move
Here is the short checklist I give clients when relocation is on the horizon and a restriction exists. Treat it as a sequence, not a menu.
- Read your order, every page. Highlight geographic restrictions, notice terms, and exchange details. Many orders require a 60‑day written notice before any move, separate from formal modification filings. Provide written notice early, with specifics. Include the proposed city, anticipated move date, reason for the move, new school options, and a draft possession schedule that fits the distances involved. File to modify before you sign a lease or enroll the child elsewhere. Ask for temporary orders that either permit the move or, if denied, keep the child’s residence stable while the court hears you. Keep the status quo until you have an order. Do not unilaterally change school, doctors, or possession. If the other parent agrees on a small change, memorialize it in an agreed temporary order. Document everything cleanly. Use email over text when possible for clarity. Keep a relocation file with job letters, housing options, school research, and a proposed budget for travel.
When the other parent relocates without permission
If you wake up to a message that the other parent has moved your child outside the restriction, act quickly and point your energy at the court, not the other parent’s front door. File an enforcement action and request a writ of habeas corpus if the move violates the order. You can also seek a temporary restraining order requiring the child’s return to the restricted area pending a hearing. If there is a valid possession order and no safety concerns, Texas courts often restore the status quo first and then sort through motives later.
Avoid the urge to retaliate by withholding child support or blocking calls. Two wrongs do not cancel in family court. Compliance positions you as the stable parent who respects the rule of law.
Tailoring possession schedules to distance
Relocation transforms a Thursday dinner into a logistical headache. You will need a new pattern. Texas courts often adopt blended schedules when distance is involved: fewer day‑to‑day exchanges, longer blocks of time. Think in concrete terms. For a move from Dallas to San Antonio, a judge may keep alternating weekends with Friday exchanges at 6 p.m. and Sunday exchanges at 6 p.m., plus one midweek overnight during non‑traffic nights and shared driving. For a move from Houston to Denver, courts lean on extended summers, every spring break, alternating Thanksgivings and winter breaks split by the holiday, and one long weekend per month with the relocating parent covering flights.
Offer specifics and share costs. If your income is higher, volunteering to cover a larger portion of travel reads well, especially in a high net worth divorce where the court expects you to reduce friction with resources, not create leverage with them.
Technology is not a cure, but it helps
Virtual visitation is part of modern parenting plans, but it cannot replace consistent, predictable physical time. Propose a schedule that is age appropriate, with buffer for sports and homework. A seven‑year‑old can handle short, frequent video calls. A teenager may prefer a longer call twice a week that does not interrupt practice or study. Specify platforms to avoid friction. If your co‑parent sabotages these calls, keep a clean record, but resist inflammatory commentary. Judges read tone.
Avoiding immigration and jurisdiction tangles
International relocations add layers: passports, the Hague Convention, and dual citizenship concerns. Texas courts can prohibit a parent from applying for a passport without consent or order. If international travel is involved, expect the court to require a detailed itinerary, proof of return flights, and sometimes a bond. For non‑Hague countries, some judges are skeptical. If the move is domestic but crosses state lines, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act governs jurisdiction. Generally, Texas keeps jurisdiction for six months after a move if Texas is the child’s home state. Do not assume a new state will take over quickly. Coordinate with a family law attorney familiar with cross‑border issues before you buy tickets.
Financial context and support adjustments
Relocation often changes costs. Travel is the obvious one, but school fees, childcare, and tutoring can shift as well. If child support is in place, you may need to modify support to reflect new realities. Texas guidelines are a starting point, not a ceiling. In contested divorce matters with substantial assets, travel budgets with annual caps and cost‑sharing formulas can keep peace. Spell out who pays for unaccompanied minor fees, baggage, and airport parking. When both parents earn well, judges sometimes split travel 50‑50 or apportion by income ratio. Bring math to court, not just adjectives.
Special considerations for military families
Service members face non‑negotiable moves. Texas courts know this and will consider deployment orders and PCS moves as potential material and substantial changes. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act can pause proceedings, but it does not rewrite parenting orders on its own. A temporary military caregiver provision can help maintain a child’s routine when the service member deploys. If you are on orders, file promptly and request tailored temporary orders that protect the child’s ties while respecting your duty.
Common mistakes that trigger findings of contempt
The same errors repeat:
- Moving day first, hearing day later. Judges treat this as self‑help. Withholding possession because you think the other parent will sabotage the move. Preemptive violations get punished. Relying on a text message as a waiver of a geographic restriction. It is not. Enrolling a child in a new school outside the restriction before the court authorizes the move. Schools will admit on a lease and immunization form. Judges will not be amused. Letting anger spill into messages. Your texts become exhibits.
A child custody lawyer can put guardrails on your communication. Short, informative, neutral messages serve you better than essays. If you must deliver bad news, do it early and with options.
The role of counsel and when to bring in other professionals
You can file on your own, but relocation cases are high risk. A divorce attorney or family law attorney who tries cases in your county will know how your judge reads evidence, the weight given to school continuity versus job opportunities, and the cadence of temporary orders. If you have a high net worth divorce, you may also need to coordinate with an estate planning attorney or tax professional because a move can affect domicile, community property issues, and trust distributions.
In tough cases, a neutral such as a parenting coordinator or a child custody evaluation can help. Coordinators do not make orders, but they can streamline communication and build records that judges trust. Evaluators will interview, observe, and report. If you request an evaluation, commit to transparency and punctuality. Missed appointments do damage.
How relocation interacts with other family law issues
Relocation rarely sits alone. If alimony is part of your decree, a move might change earning capacity analysis. If extended family plays a role, grandparents sometimes seek visitation when distance grows. If adoption is pending for a stepparent, relocating before finalization can stall that process. Probate issues occasionally surface when a parent dies during a case and a probate lawyer is pulled in to manage guardianship intersections. These are not reasons to avoid moving, but they are reasons to plan and coordinate. A seasoned family lawyer will spot the edges where a clean relocation plan can snag.
What a solid relocation proposal looks like
A persuasive relocation package reads like a responsible parent’s business plan. It covers the why, the how, and the impact on the other parent in concrete terms.
- Reason: a documented job offer with salary and schedule, a spouse’s transfer orders, or demonstrable family support that improves childcare and stability. Logistics: proposed residence, new school details, after‑school care, and medical providers. Access: a calendar that gives the non‑moving parent meaningful blocks, spelled out with pickup times and flight numbers, not vague promises. Costs: who pays what, with numbers attached and room for adjustment if fares spike during holidays. Communication: virtual visitation plan that honors the child’s routines and the other parent’s work.
If you can afford it, sweeten the schedule and shoulder more travel costs. In close cases, the parent who reduces friction often carries the judge’s confidence.
When to hold the line
Not every move should happen. If the other parent has a pattern of gatekeeping, refuses to share major decisions, or chooses a destination that isolates your child from extended family and established care, fighting the move may be necessary. Stay disciplined. Do not turn the case into a referendum on character. Put the child’s day‑to‑day life at the center. Show the court what the child will lose, not just what you fear. Bring teachers’ letters, therapy notes, and concrete examples of how your involvement anchors the child. Ask for an injunction to maintain the status quo until the court can reach the merits.
Final thoughts from the trenches
Contempt is avoidable. The path runs through preparation, candor, and respect for the court’s authority. Read your orders. Ask early for what you need. Put agreements into signed orders. Keep possession exchanges clean. Speak to the other parent like a judge is reading over your shoulder, because one day a judge might be.
If you are considering a move or you think your co‑parent might, sit down with a family attorney before the boxes come out. A short consult can save an expensive detour, or worse, a night in county jail. If your case involves overlapping issues such as property division, spousal maintenance, or trusts, bring your divorce lawyer, alimony lawyer, and estate planning lawyer into the conversation so the legal pieces move together. Parents who plan, document, and stay within the lines tend to keep the judge’s trust. In relocation cases, that trust is often the difference between a smooth transition and a contempt citation.