Update on HCBM situation:
-background-
My friend and his ex share one daughter. Over a year ago now mom wanted to relocate with the child to another state. When dad said he was not comfortable with that she held onto the child and did not allow him to see/hear from the child for months. (They did not have a formal agreement prior to this therefore he could do nothing until a judge intervened) At a temporary custody hearing it was determined that since the child had been with mom primarily for months at that point that she would retain primary custody for the remainder of the time until trial.
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After over a year of waiting for trial my friend and his ex finally went to court shortly into the new year. Judge did not allow her to relocate. Their new custody order stated 50/50 would be best for their daughter. Within the order, it states that this 50/50 arrangement only works due to the close proximity of the parents. However, less than a week later mom requested a relocation be approved to an entirely separate location that is 200+ miles away from where they currently both were residing. He and his lawyer were in the process of getting the necessary documentation in place to request the move not be approved when my friend discovered that mom had already moved with the child.
Does anyone have any words of comfort I can offer my friend in this situation? Or any advice on how he can go about documenting communication with mom?
This situation has been quite hard on my friend, as I’m sure it has been for their child and the child’s mother. He is afraid that the 50/50 custody he fought hard to get back after she was awarded temporary primary custody last year will be stripped from him before he even got a chance to enjoy more time with their child again.
(Additional note: My friend as well as his lawyer both believe this is an attempt to get around the 50/50 order that was just put in place as mom hopes to gain primary or full custody.)