Child Custody, Visitation & Relocation

MOTION TO MODIFY CUSTODY TO ALLOW 8 YEAR OLD TO FLY ALONE DENIED

Dec 10, 2018

Trial court properly denied father’s motions to suppress mother’s brief and to modify custody to allow eight-year-old child to fly as an unaccompanied minor because trial court did not err by not interviewing child and did not abuse its discretion in considering “real world scenarios” or “common sense” in considering that planes could malfunction or […]

GRANDPARENT VISITATION RIGHTS

Dec 04, 2018

Grandparent visitation rights and the visitation rights of other non-parents did not exist more than 40 years ago. Visitation rights, until recently, only applied to a child’s parents. Today, however, every state has created statutes to govern visitation rights of grandparents and certain other non-parents, such as foster parents, caregivers or stepparents. These visitation laws […]

SAME-SEX EX-PARTNER HAS NO STANDING TO SEEK CHILD CUSTODY

Nov 29, 2018

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has affirmed two lower court rulings that the former same-sex partner of a child’s biological mother cannot seek custody of the child because she has no biological connection to him and has not legally adopted him. Last year, the Superior Court in C.G. v. J.H. affirmed a Centre County judge’s determination […]

Shared Physical Child Custody Was In The Child’s Best Interest

Oct 01, 2018

In this custody modification proceeding, the court concluded shared physical custody was in the child’s best interest. The parties were the parents of a nine year old child, Kylie. Fathered petitioned for a modification of custody in which he sought primary physical custody of Kylie. Prior to the modification proceeding, the parties had been sharing […]

Can I Ask the Court to Change a Child’s Last Name to Mine if I Am Not Married to Child’s Mother?

Sep 21, 2018

The answer to whether or not a child’s last name can be changed to the name of the unmarried father varies depending on the state that you are living in, and the laws of the state that establish paternity. The Rules for Last Names In most cases, the courts will allow a name change to […]

Mother Awarded Primary Physical Child Custody due to School Commute

Sep 09, 2018

Mother was entitled to primary physical child custody of the parties’ minor children where 50-50 custody arrangement was not viable due to the children’s school commute and mother was more nurturing and attentive, while father was ambivalent to the children’s’ needs and sometimes abusive. The court ordered shared legal child custody, with mother to have […]

Father’s Petition to Modify Mother’s Primary Physical Child Custody Denied Where Shared Physical Custody is Untenable

Sep 04, 2018

Petition to modify child custody properly denied where court found maintenance of mother’s primary physical custody warranted where she fostered the child’s relationship with father and where the parties had a high-conflict relationship that would make shared physical child custody untenable. Father P.J.P. appealed from the order denying his petition for modification of the custody […]

THE PRESUMPTION IS IN FAVOR OF FATHER IN BEST INTEREST OF CHILD ANALYSIS IN GRANDMOTHER’S CHILD CUSTODY PETITION

Nov 21, 2017

The trial court erred in granting primary physical custody to child’s grandmother because its best interest analysis was contrary to precedent, failed to apply the presumption in favor of father in §5327(b) and improperly imposed the burden of proof on father. Child lived with mother at grandmother’s house for the first five years of his […]

REPEATED, FLAGRANT AND ONGOING CONTEMPT OF CHILD CUSTODY ORDERS REQUIRES SANCTIONS

Nov 07, 2017

The trial court correctly held that mother was in contempt of the court’s order but erred in not imposing sanctions for mother’s repeated, flagrant and ongoing contempt of orders related to child custody because no sanctions for flagrant abuse of court orders was an abuse of discretion and father could challenge the order as […]

FORMER SAME-SEX PARTNER OF A CHILD’S BIOLOGICAL MOTHER CANNOT CLAIM SHE IS ENTITLED TO CUSTODY OF THE CHILD

Nov 01, 2017

FORMER SAME-SEX PARTNER OF A CHILD’S BIOLOGICAL MOTHER CANNOT CLAIM SHE IS ENTITLED TO CUSTODY OF THE CHILD The former same-sex partner of a child’s biological mother cannot claim she is entitled to custody of the child since she has no biological connection to him, nor has she legally adopted him, the state Superior Court […]