Fourth Department — Family Court: Abbott v Merritt

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Appellate Division, Fourth Department 

Family Court

Joint Custody — Transfer Out-of-State Jurisdiction

Abbott v Merritt
CAF 12-02358
Appealed from Family Court, Oswego County

Background: The petitioner mother and respondent father agreed to a stipulated order that gave them joint legal custody of the children, with the father having primary physical custody. At the time, the father was located in North Carolina and the mother was expected to move to North Carolina as well. However, she stayed in New York and sought to modify the stipulated order. The court granted the father sole legal and physical custody. Both parties appealed.

Ruling: The Appellate Division affirmed. The court held that it was proper to deny the father’s motion to transfer the proceeding to North Carolina as the children had not resided in North Carolina for long and the father had better financial resources than the mother to enable him to travel. In addition, the record established that the parties were incapable of making joint decisions and that the award of sole legal custody was proper given the circumstances of the case.

Lesley C. Germanow for the petitioner-appellant-respondent; Linda M. Campbell for the respondent-respondent-appellant; A.J. Bosman, attorney for the children