Moving away with kids post divorce

[AnotherMummyHere]

Finally got divorced from husband last year. We have two children under 10. He sees them 2 days a fortnight but it's not consistent days. I wanted more structure for them but hey ho! I've been seeing an amazing man for nearly 2 years, we known each other for over 10 years. We've been living together for 6 months now and it's going really well.

However.... his children (two under 12) live 40 miles and 1 hour away. He sees them regularly, 3-4 times a week and the travelling is taking its toll. Sometimes he stays at his mums near the kids, sometimes he travels back late at night.

Anyway, we're thinking of moving to be closer to his children, we can afford a much nicer house and it still works for our jobs. My ex will still see our children the same amount as he currently does but it would have to be more structured, every other weekend for example. I have no problem dropping them off and picking them up each time.

My question is can he stop us? When I google this it talks about one parent leaving the country with the children or moving significantly far away. But 40 miles, one hour? It would obviously not be round the corner and the children would need to change schools.

I personally wouldn’t uproot the kids for a man I’ve been going out with for 2 years.

Yes, the father can apply for a prohibitive steps order to prevent the move.

You’d need to prove why uprooting the children (them changing schools) for you to be with a man you have been in a relationship with for less than 2 years is to the benefit of the children.

The 1 hour journey is too much for your OH to see his kids but it’s ok for your own kids to do?

I don't think he could say much about going half way
Prohibited steps orders are really about moving too far away to keep up the current contact ie moving from London to Edinburgh/ cardiff/ newcastle and even closer like stafford/ hull/ exeter makes EOW almost impossible
but if you went 20-30 miles away I really can't see you being stopped unless it makes seeing their dad regularly impossible
I think as you are moving you will have to do the travelling so they see their father, are the days inconsistent because their father works shifts so can't actually have every 2nd weekend off?
if so you might need to facilitate contact on different days

I think it's unfair to move. My new partner's child lived 3 hours away, so that's how long we travelled, there and back, to fetch him when he came to stay.

He can't stop you moving a few hour's away, but he can if you wanted to leave the country, please think before moving you haven't been together that long

London to Cardiff? I’ve been made to travel further than that by “family” court.

And my barrister cited the (non-binding btw) precedent about long distance moves.

My ex was allowed to take them almost 200 miles away, and we had had 50:50 care established for almost three years (after we’d split) by that point! So pretty much anything goes if you get —twats—magistrates like the ones I had.