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Migration rate decrease may be due to child custody issues

On Behalf of | Aug 17, 2016 | Divorce

Michigan residents who are considering relocating may be interested to learn that migration rates across the U.S. have dropped to almost half of what they were 50 years ago. According to research findings, one major contributing factor to decreased migration rates has been child custody.

There have been many theories as to why people are now less likely to move out of state. One hypothesis is that the American population is older and more people are reaching retirement. This is based on the untrue assumption that older individuals may be less likely to move. Another hypothesis is that more people now own homes. However, home ownership rates have remained about the same for the last 20 years. Poor economy has also been mentioned, but the migration decline has been steady even through the ups and downs in the economy over the last 50 years.

Based on a new study, divorcees with children are now much less likely to move than divorcees without kids. This trend may be due to that fact that fathers are now more involved in their children’s lives following a divorce. Back in the 1960’s and 1970’s, mothers got full custody more often and fathers were more likely to move away following a separation.

When a couple gets divorced, the court is more likely to grant parents joint custody of the children unless there are extenuating circumstances. If a parent does have to relocate for work or school, an attorney may assist with changing the custody order. The lawyer may also assist the primary caregiver with renegotiating child support to help with additional expenses.

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