Opinion ID: 1595736
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: legitimate reason for leaving state

Text: By determining this case on the basis of the best interests of the children, the district court implicitly determined that Cynthia had satisfied the threshold question whether she had a legitimate reason for leaving the state. See Jack v. Clinton, supra (emphasizing that parent seeking relocation must first satisfy court of legitimate reason for leaving state). We have little difficulty concluding, in our de novo review, that the district court did not abuse its discretion in making this determination. We have concluded that a custodial parent's `firm offer of employment with a flexible schedule in close proximity to [the custodial parent's] extended family constitutes a legitimate reason' in a removal case. Jack v. Clinton, 259 Neb. at 206, 609 N.W.2d at 334, quoting Kalkowski v. Kalkowski, 258 Neb. 1035, 607 N.W.2d 517 (2000). In this case, Cynthia presented evidence of a firm offer of employment at NYU that would enhance her career and evidence that her extended family lived in the New York area, thus meeting her burden of showing a legitimate reason to leave the state.