Housing Prices-- a Uniquely 2020s Custody Problem
I've discussed the problems with relying on not moving houses or schools as a determining factor in child custody arrangements. It takes the focus off of who is the more stable parent and focuses primarily on staying where the child was living before the separation. The only logical way to interpret the fact that courts will make orders based on geography but not on parental stability is that they believe that moving houses or schools will cause a child significant and possibly irreparable long term harm, but being raised by a mentally unstable parent is a benign arrangement. So a parent who has no job and serious mental health problems, but who could move in with family to stay within the school district, gains an advantage over a parent who is mentally stable and employed but has to move to a new house or apartment. Many custody arrangements contain restrictions on where the parents can move, which can inhibit a parent's ability to take new employment. There are some good rea...