Can he take me to court for this?

[CZP22]

I co parent with my daughters dad and everything has been fine. No rows, drama etc and we co parent well.
I have decided to move back to my home town and spoke to him regarding either sharing travel or meeting half way at weekends to maintain them having contact. He's had her overnight every weekend since birth.
This was his response
"When jake was little his mum took him away and I've missed out on so much, taking him to school etc. And for 8 years she has refused to do any of the travelling even though it's the moving parent that has to maintain contact, because she knows I weren't able to afford to take her to court. So I had no choice if I wanted to see him, I have to do 4hr round trip on a Fri and a Sunday costing me over £120 just to see him.
So if you think I'm gonna do the same with Zoe, after me telling you I'm i was in no position to have another child and couldn't afford another child when you got pregnant and you basically told me I had no choice, then you're mistaken. If you want to take her away then it's you who has to maintain contact. And a court will agree with me and luckily I'll be able to afford it this time."

Can he take me to court for this? How do I approach this amicably?
It's annoying he uses the premise that I got pregnant on purpose but I understand he feels upset

@smartwatercrumpet, that's incorrect.

PR = "If it’s a major decision (for example, one of you wants to move abroad with your children) both parents with responsibility must agree in writing"

Emergency orders for decisions on moving happen on fairly regular basis, especially where one parent is intent on moving without consent.

@CZP22 please please take on board what people are saying about the courts having the power to order you to return your daughter to the local area, or to prohibit her moving away. It can and does happen, and you don’t want to start proceedings on the back foot with the judge thinking you’ve made decisions unilaterally and acted unreasonably. There’s a good chance you will be granted permission if you can set out your reasoning clearly and centring the needs of your daughter, but please do things properly as it will only make it harder on you if you try to cut corners or insist it’s your decision alone.

@smartwatercrumpet

You'd think wouldn't you but my solicitor was very clear that even they were completely surprised their client - the mother - was refused permission to move out of the area - an area she moved to to be with her then husband and had no ties to

I am taking on board helpful answers of course x

If daughters dad does decide to go to court I will clearly state my reasons, my plan and my suggestions for co parenting x

I obviously want to avoid it, because at the moment me and him have a good co parenting relationship, and I don't want any bitterness or bad feeling to arise. I completely understand that he's upset and why he's upset, but it is in no way my intention to take our daughter from him or to replace him as her father. Not in a million years

Moving abroad is not the same thing. It's specifically within the law surrounding parental responsibility that a parent has to agree to a child being taken out of the country for more than 30 days. It's true that he could apply for a prohibited steps order, just as she could apply for a specific issue order to get permission from the court to go. It still stands that until a court (which is not yet involved) decides otherwise, she is free to do as she chooses. And the court would only order this after weighing up the impact of a child being moved to live further away from the father against the child living with a parent who has been forced to live somewhere she feels unsafe. There is no automatic right on the father's part to have his daughter close by.

@smartwatercrumpet but it is entirely possible that if OP unilaterally moves without consent, the court would make an emergency order (if father applies which he says he would) to return the child while those issues are looked at and decided.

You may think emergency orders are only for urgent safeguarding matters but that’s not correct.

If you are referring to prohibited steps orders or specific issue orders then the parent issuing would still be required to engage in mediation prior to issuing court proceedings unless it is 'urgent', e.g. a risk of harm to the child or a risk of them being removed unlawfully from the U.K. I don't disagree that there is a possibility that a court might order the parent to return. I disagree that the default starting position of the court would be that the mother has no right to move without their permission or that they would frown upon her leaving without it.

I have on several occasions seen the court order a child returned to the area they left, on an emergency application, while proceedings continue. Sometimes at the end of proceedings permission is then granted, sometimes not. A sudden and unilateral move from one parent would override the need for mediation (some courts don’t bother to insist on mediation anyway but that’s another story).

It is far better to go through the proper processes, attend mediation and if no resolution apply to court prior to any move. It would remove the risk of OP being seen as unreasonable and also reduce the acrimony of urgent, desperate hearings. OP is not in a situation where she needs to rush. She seems to have a good relationship with her ex and it’s much better to try to preserve that if possible.

But you are taking his daughter away from him. How can you say your not when that is the whole premise of the plan

And how is him doing half the driving a compromise?

"I'm taking your child nearly 2 hours away but it's ok because I'm only going to make you do half of the driving to see her." Um..

A compromise would be you bringing the child to him so his access isn't changed, in return for you getting to live where you want.

Either way, do not fool yourself that taking her that far away won't affect their relationship. It will.

All the faux outrage types. Too bad .

OP has made her decision, she's going & if he wants to take her to court, she'll deal with that in due course & if she has to do all travelling- so be it.

Sorry internet witches/bitches you didn't get to ruin someone's happiness (today) no doubt you'll try again tomorrow.

The other thing that I think you need to take into account is given the distance holidays are likely to be shared (his parents live near him correct) and that he is likely to get a week at Christmas/Easter and two weeks in the Summer and longer at half term.

Also that one night every week simply isnt feasible - can you work in EOW.

I think moving is entirely possible - I think he could take you to court and you would have to prove moving is in your childrens best interest but within that compromises about contact and holidays

You need to have a good plan and suggestions for coparenting that arent what you have at the moment. Talk to him face to face - did you actually text him this?

We had a hearing where my ex tried to prevent me moving.

I moved 4 hrs away to a town with no links for me. I couldn't afford houses in area and so I moved north to be cheaper.

I wasn't ordered to move back at all.

I'm glad you and your DC are now settled.

May I ask what the contact agreement is, and who is responsible for the drop offs/pick ups? May be relevant to OP.

So you find nothing wrong with her uprooting two kids and moving in with her boyfriend of only 4 months?

Court ordered one weekend a month and a half way meet for pick off and drop off.

How did this turn out OP?

Her dad has come round to the idea. And we've sorted something out. In all honesty, I really believe he instantly got defensive and lashed out because I know when his ex moved away she made it very difficult for him to see his son. Where as I'm making every effort aswell to ensure there's a relationship

Fantastic @CZP22 your common sense & willingness to compromise (and not rising to the bait of the haters on here) made it obvious you would be grand. I hope you're very happy in your new life x

I did get soooo much hate for this lol. But everyone's entitled to an opinion x life's all good, kids and me are happy x