Mount Vernon, Virginia · Child Visitation & Parenting Time

A new job in another state. A remarriage. A chance to move closer to your own family. The opportunity is real, and so is the fear that taking it could cost you your children. Here is the answer: in Virginia you cannot just move away with the kids, you must give 30 days’ advance written notice of any relocation to the court and the other parent, who can object, and the court decides under the best interests of the child. In Mount Vernon, we help you move the right way or respond when the other parent wants to go.

By Alisa Chunephisal, Esq. · Founding Partner, NOVA Legal Professionals

This article is one part of our larger guide to child visitation in Virginia. For the full picture, start with our cornerstone, Child Visitation and Parenting Time in Virginia. Here, I will focus on the notice rule, what the court weighs, and how to protect your relationship either way.

What the relocation rule requires

Virginia law does not let either parent quietly relocate with a child. Under Virginia Code Section 20-124.5, a parent who intends to move must give at least 30 days’ advance written notice of the intended relocation and any change of address, to both the court and the other parent. The other parent then has the chance to object, and the court resolves it. You can read more on our travel and relocation page.

Moving first and apologizing later backfires

The single most damaging thing a parent can do here is to move first and ask permission later. Skipping the notice, or relocating and presenting it as done, does not just risk being ordered back; it tells the judge something about your judgment and your respect for the other parent’s role. Courts remember that. The parent who follows the process, gives proper notice, and makes a thoughtful proposal almost always stands on firmer ground than the one who treated the rule as optional.

What the court actually weighs

A relocation case is decided under the best interests of the child standard in Virginia Code Section 20-124.3, and one question sits at the center of it: whether the move is in the child’s interest, not only the moving parent’s. Courts look hard at whether the relocation would substantially impair the other parent’s relationship with the child, the reason for the move, the benefit to the child, and whether a workable long-distance schedule can preserve the bond. A move for a genuine opportunity, paired with a real plan to keep the other parent close, is a very different case from a move that simply puts distance between the child and a parent.

If you are the parent who wants to move

Give the required notice, and do it properly and on time. Then build your case around the child, not just the opportunity: why the move benefits them, and exactly how you will keep the other parent woven into their life through a detailed long-distance schedule, protected calls, and shared travel. The stronger and more specific your plan to preserve the other relationship, the better your chance of being allowed to go.

If you are the parent staying behind

You have the right to object, and the right to be heard before the move happens, which is exactly why the notice rule exists. Act quickly, because timing matters. We help you show the court how the relocation would impair your relationship with your child and press for either denial of the move or a schedule that genuinely protects your time, which may mean reworking the order through a modification. A Mount Vernon case would be heard in the Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.

How we help in Mount Vernon

We guide moving parents through proper notice and a child-centered relocation plan, and we help staying parents object effectively and protect their time. Either way, we focus on the parenting schedule, because that is what usually decides these cases. We do this for parents across Mount Vernon, Lorton, and the Fort Belvoir area.

Frequently Asked Questions