Relocation of Children after Divorce and Children's Best Interests: New Evidence and Legal Considerations

45 Pages Posted: 12 Jun 2002

See all articles by Sanford L. Braver

Sanford L. Braver

Arizona State University (ASU) - Department of Psychology

Ira Mark Ellman

Center for the Study of Law and Society, Berkeley Law, University of California, Berkeley; Arizona State University College of Law; Arizona State University (ASU) - Department of Psychology

William V. Fabricius

Arizona State University (ASU) - Department of Psychology

Date Written: May 21, 2002

Abstract

State courts have rightly termed relocation cases, in which a custodial parent's desire to move away with the child is opposed by the other parent, one of the knottiest and most disturbing problems courts face. The recent trend is to permit such moves. This trend was encouraged by Judith Wallerstein's influential but controversial amica curiae brief in the California Supreme Court case of Burgess v. Burgess, which argued that allowing such moves is generally in the child's interests because social science evidence shows that in general, what is good for the custodial parent is good for the child. Subsequent papers have challenged Wallerstein's characterization of the social science evidence, but in fact there has been no single study offering direct evidence on this question. The current study, which divides college students whose parents were divorced into groups based upon their parents' moveaway status, sought such direct evidence. We find statistically significant differences favoring children of divorce whose parents did not move, on a variety of outcomes, as reported by the students themselves. These results suggest that the child's interests require separate consideration from that of the custodial parent's in the rules by which such relocation cases are decided.

Keywords: Child custody; divorce, relocation

JEL Classification: K39

Suggested Citation

Braver, Sanford L. and Ellman, Ira Mark and Fabricius, William V., Relocation of Children after Divorce and Children's Best Interests: New Evidence and Legal Considerations (May 21, 2002). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=313759 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.313759

Sanford L. Braver

Arizona State University (ASU) - Department of Psychology ( email )

950 S. McAllister Ave
P. O. Box 871104
Tempe, AZ 85287-1104
United States

Ira Mark Ellman (Contact Author)

Center for the Study of Law and Society, Berkeley Law, University of California, Berkeley ( email )

Berkeley, CA 94720-2150
United States

HOME PAGE: http://csls.berkeley.edu/people/csls-affiliates

Arizona State University College of Law ( email )

Box 877906
Phoenix, AZ
United States

Arizona State University (ASU) - Department of Psychology ( email )

950 S. McAllister Ave
P. O. Box 871104
Tempe, AZ 85287-1104
United States

William V. Fabricius

Arizona State University (ASU) - Department of Psychology ( email )

950 S. McAllister Ave
P. O. Box 871104
Tempe, AZ 85287-1104
United States

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