New York Family Law: Relocation and Tropea Factors

Under New York law, a parent can relocate outside of New York only with a court order or agreement by the other parent, but it must be in the best interest of the child and cannot inhibit the other parent from having parenting time, assuming he or she has visitation rights.

Tropea v. Tropea, 87 N.Y.2d 727 (1996) is the controlling case law in New York for parental relocation cases and the New York Court of Appeals set the precedent in New York for using a best interest of the child analysis in deciding parental relocation. In Tropea, the mother was the custodial parent with sole residential custody and the father had visitation rights. There was a clause in the divorce separation agreement that the mother could not relocate outside the county without court approval. The mother had remarried, had a new baby on the way with her new husband, and the couple had recently bought a house in another county. Respondent argued that he should not lose out on visitation with his child just because the mother wanted a different lifestyle. The trial court held that the mother’s wish to have a new start with her new family did not sufficiently serve the best interest of her child. At the appellate level, the court said that the move would still allow the father meaningful access to his child and approved the relocation. The case was then appealed to New York’s highest court. The New York Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the appellate court and ruled that the mother’s remarriage and desire to make a “fresh start” with her new family was in the best interest of the child because she was able to show how this would provide the child with a more stabile family unit and a better quality of life (from an economic standpoint). Further, the move was not so far that the father would be unable to have meaningful access to and visitation with his child.

In relocation cases, the relocating parent bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that relocation is in the best interest of the child. The best interest of the child is at the court’s discretion in relocation cases and the court considers these following factors, known as the Tropea factors:

(1) The good faith of the parents in requesting or opposing the move;

(2) The child’s respective attachments to the custodial and non-custodial parents;

(3) The possibility of devising a visitation schedule that will enable the non-custodial parent to maintain a meaningful relationship with the child;

(4) The impact of the move would have on the quality of the life of the child;

(5) Any negative impact from hostility between the parents;

(6) The effect on extended family relationships; and

(7) Any other factors the court may consider.