One parent gets a certified letter in the mail. The co-parent is moving to Houston next month and plans to take the children. What happens next depends almost entirely on what both parents do in the following 30 to 60 days, because Louisiana has a precise, step-by-step legal process that governs exactly this situation. Getting it right matters. Getting it wrong can cost a parent their right to object, their custody schedule, or both.
Louisiana’s parental relocation statutes, found at La. R.S. 9:355.1 et seq., create a structured procedure that applies any time a parent plans to move a child’s principal residence a significant distance. The process protects both parents’ rights, but it doesn’t favor either side automatically. Courts look at what each parent does and how they do it. At Sudduth & Associates, LLC, we’ve guided Lake Charles families through this process since 2013, and the steps most people overlook are usually the ones that determine the outcome.
What Counts as a Relocation Under Louisiana Law
Louisiana’s relocation statute applies when a parent intends to change the child’s principal residence, the home where the child primarily lives, for 60 days or more. Temporary absences, like a summer trip or an extended family visit, don’t trigger the statute. The key is intent: is the move meant to be a permanent or long-term change in where the child lives?
The distance thresholds matter. Any move out of state, regardless of how far, requires compliance with the relocation statute. Within Louisiana, the threshold is 75 miles from the child’s principal residence at the time the custody order was issued. A move inside Louisiana under that threshold doesn’t trigger La. R.S. 9:355.2, but that doesn’t mean it’s consequence-free. A shorter move can still make the existing custody schedule unworkable, and if it does, the non-relocating parent can file a separate motion to modify custody based on changed circumstances.
The Notice Requirement: What the Moving Parent Must Do First
Before anything goes to a judge, the relocating parent has a clear statutory obligation. Under La. R.S. 9:355.5, written notice must be sent by certified or registered mail with return receipt requested at least 60 days before the proposed move date. Email and text messages don’t satisfy this requirement.
The notice itself must contain specific information:
- The relocating parent’s current mailing address
- The new physical address and mailing address
- New home and cellular telephone numbers
- The proposed move date
- A brief statement of the reasons for moving
- A proposed revised custody and visitation schedule
- A statement informing the other parent that they have 30 days to object in writing
Skipping or shortcutting any of these elements creates serious exposure. Under La. R.S. 9:355.6, a court that finds the relocating parent failed to provide proper notice can treat that failure as a factor against the relocation, order the child returned, and require the relocating parent to pay the other parent’s reasonable expenses.
What the Other Parent Can Do: The 30-Day Objection Window
For the non-relocating parent, the clock starts the moment the certified notice is received. Louisiana gives that parent 30 days to file a written objection, also sent by certified mail. This window isn’t flexible. A parent who misses the deadline allows the relocating parent to proceed through a summary court proceeding, essentially uncontested, and loses the opportunity to participate meaningfully.
Filing a timely objection has immediate legal force. Once a proper objection is filed, the relocating parent can’t leave with the child until the court issues a ruling, unless the court enters a temporary order specifically permitting interim relocation while the full hearing is scheduled.
There’s a misconception worth correcting here. The fact that a parent sent relocation notice doesn’t, by itself, constitute a change of circumstances that justifies revisiting the underlying custody order. La. R.S. 9:355.17 makes this explicit. If the non-relocating parent wants to seek a modification of the custody arrangement, not just oppose the move, that requires a separate showing of a material change in circumstances beyond the proposed relocation itself. Conflating the two leads to unnecessary and expensive litigation.
The Contradictory Hearing: How Louisiana Courts Decide
A contradictory hearing is a court proceeding where both parties appear before the judge, present evidence, and argue their positions before the court rules. In a parental relocation case, the judge doesn’t simply decide whether the move seems reasonable. The relocating parent carries a two-part burden under La. R.S. 9:355.10: proving both that the proposed relocation is made in good faith and that it is in the best interest of the child. Both elements are required. The Louisiana Supreme Court confirmed this dual standard in Curole v. Curole (2002), and courts have applied it consistently since. A parent who can show a legitimate employment reason but can’t address the child’s best interest hasn’t met the full burden.
La. R.S. 9:355.14 gives courts 12 factors to evaluate in making this determination.
These factors include:
- The child’s relationship with each parent and with siblings
- The educational, physical, and emotional needs of the child
- The feasibility of preserving the relationship between the child and the non-relocating parent through a modified schedule
- The child’s age and any preference the child has expressed
- Each parent’s stated reasons for seeking or opposing the move
- Any history of substance abuse, harassment, or violence by either party
This isn’t a checklist where the party who wins the most factors prevails. Louisiana judges weigh these factors as a whole against the specific facts of the family before them.
How the 14th JDC Handles Relocation Cases
In Calcasieu Parish, parental relocation hearings are held at the 14th Judicial District Court, located at 1000 Ryan Street, Lake Charles. The 14th JDC’s Family and Juvenile Court uses a One Judge, One Family case management system, meaning the relocation matter is assigned to the same division (A, C, or J) that already holds the parties’ existing custody file. The judge hearing the relocation dispute already knows the custody history, prior orders, and the parties’ litigation record. That context shapes how the hearing unfolds and how evidence lands.
What Happens to the Custody Order If Relocation Is Approved
Court approval of a relocation doesn’t leave the existing custody order unchanged. When a judge grants relocation, the order is modified to reflect the new geographic reality. Regular mid-week exchanges and alternating weekends become logistically impossible from three states away. What typically replaces them are extended periods during school breaks, longer holiday visits, and scheduled long-distance communication between the child and the non-relocating parent.
Courts can also require the relocating parent to provide reasonable financial security to help ensure compliance with the non-relocating parent’s visitation rights under the new schedule. If either parent fails to follow the modified order, enforcement options are available through the same 14th JDC division that issued it. A non-complying parent faces contempt proceedings, and the other parent can return to court to seek enforcement or request further modification if circumstances warrant.
Two Deadlines That Decide Most Cases
Most of the ground lost in relocation cases is lost before anyone sets foot in a courtroom. The relocating parent who sends a text instead of certified mail, or who omits required information from the notice, creates reversible legal error before the hearing is even scheduled. The non-relocating parent who waits 35 days to file an objection discovers the window closed five days earlier. Those two moments, the 60-day notice requirement and the 30-day objection window, are where outcomes are shaped. Everything that follows at the contradictory hearing is built on how those early steps were handled. If you’re facing a proposed relocation or considering one, getting legal guidance before you act is what protects your position. Sudduth & Associates, LLC offers same-day consultations and bilingual services for Lake Charles families working through this process. Reach out to us at (337) 282-9003.