If I never married my son mother but been in my son life since he were born... can she just pick up and move out of state? 500 miles away?

Thank you for your question. There are two kinds of custody in New Jersey, legal and physical. The presumption is always that you would share joint legal custody which is the right to make major life decisions about health, education and welfare. Physical custody is more subjective but it sounds like you have worked out a wonderful schedule that works for your family until this point. A person cannot relocate out of state with a child without a court order or consent of the other party. The issue that you will need to address is the best interests of the child. If you have already filed something with the Court, you may want to consider asking to have this heard in an expedited manner if the child’s mother is planning on moving quickly. We offer free consults and can discuss the options of filing an emergent application so that a court can prevent her from leaving the state with your son.