Modifying Custody After a Parent Relocates

The Relocation Question

Few family-law issues create more conflict than relocation. The custodial parent has a job offer in Phoenix, a new spouse in Texas, family in Oregon — and the existing custody order assumed both parents would remain in Nevada. NRS 125C.006 governs the analysis, and the framework is unforgiving for parents who move first and ask permission later.

Permission Comes First

Under NRS 125C.006, a parent with primary physical custody must obtain either the written consent of the other parent or a court order before relocating with the child out of Nevada. Moving without one of those is a violation that can — and frequently does — result in an immediate change of custody.

The Relocation Factors

Whether the move is in good faith and not designed to defeat the other parent's contact
The advantages of the move to the relocating parent and child
Whether the relocating parent has a reasonable plan to facilitate ongoing contact with the non-relocating parent
Whether the non-relocating parent's reasons for objecting are themselves in good faith
Whether the move is likely to enhance the quality of life for the relocating parent and child

Joint Physical Custody Changes the Analysis

When parents share joint physical custody (each has the child at least 40% of the time), the relocation analysis shifts. The relocating parent must show that relocation is in the child's best interest — a higher burden than the showing required when one parent has primary custody. In practice, joint-physical-custody relocations often require modification of the custody arrangement itself, not just the geography.

Practical Steps Before You File

If you're considering relocation, the work begins long before filing. Document the reasons for the move. Build a concrete parenting-time proposal — flights, summer schedules, holidays. Engage with the other parent in good faith about the plan, in writing, to demonstrate cooperation. The cases that succeed are the ones where the relocating parent has built a record of good faith and a workable plan; the cases that fail are the ones where the move feels like a unilateral fait accompli.