Mother’s Petition to Relocate Should Not Have Been Denied—Analytical Criteria Described

The Second Department determined Family Court should not have denied mother’s petition to relocate. The analytical criteria were described as: “When reviewing a custodial parent’s request for permission to relocate, the court’s primary focus must be on the best interests of the child … . Although each custodial parent’s request for relocation must be decided on its own merits, the factors to be considered include, but are not limited to, each parent’s reasons for seeking or opposing the move, the quality of the relationships between the children and each parent, the impact of the move on the quantity and quality of the children’s future contact with the noncustodial parent, the degree to which the lives of the custodial parent and the children may be enhanced economically, emotionally, and educationally by the move, and the feasibility of preserving the relationship between the noncustodial parent and the children through suitable visitation arrangements … . In relocation proceedings, this [the appellate court’s] authority is as broad as that of the hearing court, and a relocation determination will not be permitted to stand unless it is supported by a sound and substantial basis in the record …”. [quotations omitted] Matter of DeCillis v DeCillis, 2015 NY Slip Op 04126, 2nd Dept 5-13-15