A ban on relocating the child

Of course, if you start proceedings to request a moving injunction, you must be able to plausibly show that there are serious moving plans.

Are there signs to be seen on social media? Are there any changed circumstances? A new job or relationship, or the loss of work or a recently broken relationship? Sometimes a parent makes deliberate plans (in secret) for a move. Sometimes it is precisely during an unstable period that a parent may suddenly decide they want to make a new start somewhere else.

Statements from third parties can help. Preferably from objective third parties, who have no interest. It can be tempting to see the children as a source of information about the other parent, but questioning them, especially about these kinds of sensitive issues, places the children in a loyalty conflict. You can try to elicit a response from the other parent (or people close to them) by asking a question about a longer-term issue, such as the next school year or a change in sports teams.

Even if you don’t have the evidence all the way around, it may still be worthwhile to start this procedure. Perhaps clarity will still be provided before or at the hearing, and perhaps agreements can still be made. Sometimes the judge can get the other parent to agree not to move for the time being, so that further consultation can take place.

Of course there is also the risk that the other parent will leave immediately, if a letter from a lawyer arrives, or if a court session is announced. That is why it is good to have ears and eyes nearby that can warn you in time.