You Usually Need Consent — or the Court’s Permission
When you are seeking to relocate and the other parent will not agree, you must petition the court for permission to do so. In custody cases, the child’s best interest is the polestar of the Court’s decision-making.
With that said, the requirements for relocating depend upon the nature of the custodial arrangement at the time of the request to relocate, among other considerations.
The decision to relocate is heavily fact dependent, and we strongly recommend that you obtain qualified legal counsel prior to initiating any relocation talks with the other parent.
The Rules Depend on Your Custody Arrangement
The exact requirements depend on the custody arrangement in place at the time of your request.
Primary physical custody. If you have primary physical custody under a court order and want to relocate with the child, you must first seek the noncustodial parent’s written consent; if they refuse, you petition the court for permission to relocate (NRS 125C.006).
Joint physical custody. If the parents share joint physical custody, the bar is higher. The relocating parent must again seek the other parent’s written consent, and if it is refused, must petition the court for primary physical custody for the purpose of relocating (NRS 125C.0065). In other words, you are asking the court to change custody, not just approve a move.
In either case, the court may award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to the relocating parent if it finds the other parent refused consent without reasonable grounds, or simply to harass the relocating parent.
What You Must Show the Court
Before a court will even weigh a relocation, the relocating parent generally must establish three threshold points:
- A sensible, good-faith reason for the move. The relocation must be genuine — not a strategy to cut the other parent out of the child’s life.
- That the move serves the child’s best interests. The focus stays on the child, not just the parent’s preferences.
- An actual advantage from the move. The child and the relocating parent must stand to genuinely benefit from the relocation.
The Factors the Court Weighs
If those threshold points are met, the court then weighs a series of factors and how each affects the child, the relocating parent, and the non-relocating parent, including:
- How likely the move is to improve the quality of life for the child and the relocating parent;
- Whether the relocating parent’s motives are honorable — and not meant to frustrate the other parent’s visitation;
- Whether the relocating parent will comply with any substitute visitation the court orders;
- Whether the non-relocating parent’s opposition is honorable, or aimed at gaining a financial advantage;
- Whether a realistic visitation schedule can preserve the relationship between the child and the non-relocating parent; and
- Any other factor the court finds helpful to its decision.
The Factors the Court Weighs
When the child is school-aged, Nevada courts often look to an additional set of considerations (drawn from the Arcella decision) to compare the child’s current and prospective schools. These can include the child’s own wishes (if old enough to express a sensible preference), each school’s ability to meet the child’s educational, medical, and extracurricular needs, the quality of instruction, the child’s past academic performance, whether the move would disrupt academic progress, the child’s ability to adapt to a new environment, commute and logistics, and whether a particular school might alienate the child from a parent.
Moving Forward
Relocation cases are among the most fact-intensive matters in Nevada family law, and the factors above are only a starting point — not an exhaustive checklist. The outcome often hinges on how your specific circumstances are presented to the court. At Jones & LoBello, we help Nevada parents understand their rights, weigh their options, and build the strongest possible case, whether they are hoping to relocate or working to keep their child close.
