Baldwin v. Baldwin

710 A.2d 610, 1998 Pa. Super. LEXIS 625

• Court: Superior Court of Pennsylvania
• Decided: April 8, 1998
• Status: Published

Opinions

JOHNSON, Judge:

Karen S. Baldwin (“Mother”) appeals from the trial court order that denied her petition to modify the existing consent order for custody of the minor child of Mother and Dennis A. Baldwin (“Father”). Specifically, Mother challenges the trial court’s decision to deny her request to relocate, along with the parties’ minor child, from Pennsylvania to South Carolina. Because the trial court’s conclusions in this instance are reasonable in light of its supportable factual findings, we affirm.

Mother and Father’were married on May 28, 1983, and separated in May 1996. They had one child during the marriage, a daughter, who was bom in 1985. Following the separation, the court entered a consent order that granted the parties’ shared legal custody of the child. Mother retained primary physical custody of the child and Father was given partial custody every other weekend, every Tuesday evening, every other Thursday evening, shared holiday visitations and three weeks of summer vacation.

During the course of the marriage and following the parties’ separation, Mother was employed at Mount Aloysius College as a nursing instructor. In February 1997, Mother’s employer informed her of the possibility that her teaching position would not be renewed for the upcoming year due to declining enrollment. On April 14, 1997, Mother received a letter from Mount Aloysius College confirming that her teaching contract would not be renewed. In the interim, Mother learned of opportunities available to teach near her sister in South Carolina. As a result, Mother actively sought a teaching position in that area and, in May 1997, she received a job offer from Midlands Technical College in Columbia, South Carolina. At no time, however, did Mother seek employment within Pennsylvania.

After receiving the job offer, Mother filed a petition to modify the existing consent order so that she could move to South Carolina with the child. Father opposed the move, asserting that it was in the child’s best interest to remain in Pennsylvania. Following a hearing on the matter, the trial court denied Mother’s modification petition. The court also denied Mother’s petition for reconsideration and this appeal followed.

Mother first argues that the trial court erred when it determined that it was not in the best interests of the parties’ minor child to relocate to South Carolina. “In Pennsylvania, custody and visitation matters are decided on the basis of the ‘best interests of the child’ standard, considering all factors which legitimately have an effect upon a child’s physical, intellectual, moral and spiri-

tual well-being.” White v. White, 437 Pa.Super. 446, 450, 650 A.2d 110, 112-13 (1994). In addressing relocation disputes, the trial court must consider the following interests:

the custodial parent’s desire to exercise autonomy over basic decisions that will directly affect his or her life and that of the children; a child’s strong interest in maintaining and developing a meaningful relationship with the non-custodial parent; the interest of the non-custodial parent in sharing in the love and rearing of his or her children; and finally,' the state’s interest in protecting the best interests of the children.

Gruber v. Gruber, 400 Pa.Super. 174, 184, 583 A.2d 434, 438-39 (1990). To accommodate these competing interests, this Court has set forth the following factors for the trial court to consider in determining whether the custodial parent and child should be permitted to relocate at a geographical distance from the non-custodial parent:

1. The potential advantages of the proposed move and the likelihood that the move would substantially improve the quality of life for the custodial parent and the children and is not the- result of a momentary whim on the part of the custodial parent.

2. The integrity of the motives of both the custodial and non-custodial parent in either seeking the move or seeking to prevent it.

3. The availability of realistic, substitute visitation arrangements which will adequately foster an ongoing relationship between the child and the non-custodial parent.

Gruber, supra, 400 Pa.Super. at 185, 583 A.2d at 439. While these factors are helpful in resolving relocation disputes, this Court has repeatedly noted that they do not create a new standard and that “the polestar of our analysis in this case, just as it was in Gruber and a legion of prior custody cases, remains the best interests of the child.” Lee v. Fontine, 406 Pa.Super. 487, 489-90, 594 A.2d 724, 726 (1991); see also Gancas v. Schultz, 453 Pa.Super. 324, 330-32, 683 A.2d 1207, 1210 (1996); Plowman v. Plowman, 409 Pa.Super. 143, 153-55, 597 A.2d 701, 707 (1991).

Further, our review of child custody orders is well settled.

On appeal, our scope of review is broad in that we are not bound by deductions and inferences drawn by the trial court from the facts found, nor are we required to accept findings which are wholly without support in the record. On the other hand, our broad scope of review does not authorize us to nullify the fact-finding function of the trial court in order to [substitute] our judgment for that of the trial court. Rather, we are bound by findings supported by the record, and may reject conclusions drawn by the trial court only if they involve an error of law, or are unreasonable in light of the sustainable findings of the trial court, (citations omitted).

Lee, supra, 406 Pa.Super. at 488, 594 A.2d at 725, quoting Zummo v. Zummo, 394 Pa.Super. 30, 54, 574 A.2d 1130, 1142 (1990).

After reviewing the record, we find no abuse of the trial court’s discretion that requires reversal of its decision. Rather, we find that the trial court carefully weighed all evidence and testimony of record before finding it to be in the child’s best interests to remain in Pennsylvania. With respect to the first Gruber factor, the trial court found the following:

The Court does recognize that the Petitioner’s job in Pennsylvania was terminated and that she secured a position from Midland Technical College with a $32,-000.00 salary. It should be noted that this is less than the $36,000.00 salary that the Petitioner received from Mount Aloysius.

However, in considering the relocation, the Court is not limited to considering solely economic benefits. Gruber, 400 Pa.Super. at. 184, 583 A.2d at 439. The Petitioner places emphasis on the fact that [the child] will have the benefit of being raised near her aunt and various first cousins in South Carolina. However, a majority of the Petitioner’s family resides in Pennsylvania, as does all of the Respondent’s immediate family. Presently, [the child] visits her [paternal] grandmother every other Sunday in Black Lick, Indiana County, Pennsylvania.

Trial Court Opinion, filed July 3, 1997, at 4-5.

With respect to the second Gruber factor, the trial court determined that Father’s motives were pure and that he was opposing the move solely because of his concern for the child and his desire to maintain a father-daughter relationship. The court, however, questioned Mother’s motives for seeking the move to South Carolina:

[I]t is obvious that the Petitioner made no effort to seek employment within the vicinity of Indiana [County] or in the state of Pennsylvania. The Petitioner testified that there were no full time positions available for a nursing instructor in the area. However, she admitted that she failed to make any official inquiries by submitting her resume to either Indiana University of Pennsylvania or any other facility within Pennsylvania. Likewise, the Petitioner did not accept her prior employer’s offer to advertise her credentials or to pay for interview trips within Pennsylvania. Bather, she focused her job search solely in South Carolina.

Opinion, swpra, at 5-6. The court also noted its concern regarding Mother’s intermittent refusal to allow Father to see his daughter at scheduled times. Id. at 6-7.

Mother challenges the trial court’s determination that she made no effort to seek employment near Indiana, Pennsylvania. However, this factual determination, which is clearly supported by the record, has been resolved adversely to Mother’s interests. See N.T., June 26, 1997, at 18-23. We will not relitigate this issue on appeal. See Vineski v. Vineski, 450 Pa.Super. 183, 188 n. 5, 675 A.2d 722, 724 n. 5 (1996), quoting Plowman n. 4 (appellant may not attempt to relitigate factual issues already decided by the trial court as “ ‘it is inappropriate for the Superior Court to make factual determinations based on conflicting evidence’ ”).

Mother further argues that she was not required to search for employment in Pennsylvania. Mother’s assertion, however, ignores the fact that an inquiry into the custodial parent’s motives in relocating is proper under Gruber. Here, the trial court questioned the integrity of Mother’s motives, based on Mother’s failure to seek local employment and the fact that Mother, at times, had refused to allow Father to see his daughter during scheduled visits. See Plowman, supra, 409 Pa.Super. at 157-58, 597 A.2d at 709 (though finding evidence of local job opportunities and salaries irrelevant on other grounds, this Court noted that custodial parent’s ability to obtain similar employment locally may be relevant to his or her motives behind the proposed move). Thus, we do not agree with Mother that it was unreasonable for the trial court to question Mother’s motives for relocation in light of its factual findings; findings that are clearly supported by the record. Compare White, supra (court denied mother’s petition to relocate, despite fact it would be beneficial for child to be near mother’s family in California where: move was not carefully planned out and mother had too little concern for disruptive effect the move would have on the parties’ child, who had spent the majority of his life with father and family; child had significant family contacts in Pennsylvania; mother had not secured employment in other state and had failed to pursue employment in Pennsylvania; and father’s motives for opposing the move were solely out of his concern for his relationship with the child) with Gruber, supra (court granted mother’s petition to relocate where both mother and father stated that mother permitted father access to the children as often as the visitation order permitted, and mother’s motives were pure as her relocation request was not motivated by a desire to deny father access to their children).

Mother also disputes the trial court’s determination that she was uncooperative concerning visitations. Here, the trial court determined that “the Court cannot confidently say that the Petitioner would abide by any visitation agreement once she is in South Carolina when there have been visitation disputes when the parties reside within the same city.” Opinion, supra, at 7. We defer to the trial court’s findings as the record supports them. See N.T., supra, at 23-26, 33-36; Vineski, supra. Further, when considering whether a realistic substitute visitation arrangement is feasible, the court must foster a “continuing, meaningful relationship between the children and non-custodial parent.” Gntber, supra, at 186, 588 A.2d at 440; see also Plowman, supra, at 151-53, 597 A.2d at 706 (noting that the custodial parent has a responsibility towards the non-custodial parent to maintain the relationship between the child and the non-custodial parent). The trial court’s concern that, once relocated to South Carolina, Mother may attempt to hinder Father’s access to the child is not unreasonable in light of its factual findings.

Moreover, the three factors we set forth in Gruber for the trial court to utilize in relocation disputes “must then be factored into the ultimate consideration of the court, which is to determine what is in the best interests of the child.” Plowman, supra, at 154, 597 A.2d at 707. Here, the trial court stated that:

[I]n choosing to move to South Carolina, the Court finds that the Petitioner has a greater concern for her own interests, than that of her child. Despite the fact that [the child] would prefer to stay in Indiana to be near both of her parents, the Petitioner made no attempt to remain in Pennsylvania. Rather, the Petitioner decided to go to South Carolina to cope with her divorce. To allow the Petitioner to take [the child] to South Carolina at this time could very well thwart the development of a healthy relationship between [the child] and her father.

Opinion, supra, at 7.

We are cognizant of the fact that the resolution of relocation cases, like the present one, “involves imperfect and often painful solutions.” Gruber, supra, at 189, 583 A.2d at 441. This Court has also stated that the best interests of the child are more closely aligned with the interests and quality of life of the custodial parent. Id. at 186-89, 583 A.2d at 440. While this is often the case, there are other interests that must also be considered. Id. at 182-86, 583 A.2d at 438-39; see also Plowman, supra, at 151-53, 597 A.2d at 706. Further, there is no black letter formula that easily resolves relocation disputes; rather, custody disputes are delicate issues that must be handled on a case-by-case basis. Id. Here, the trial court was faced with the difficult task of determining, based on many relevant and competing interests, whether it was in the child’s best interests to relocate to South Carolina or to remain in Pennsylvania. We are satisfied that the trial court carefully considered all relevant factors, as required by Gruber, before making its determination regarding the child’s best interests. As an appellate court, we should not substitute our judgment for that of the trial court; rather, we are merely to decide if the conclusions of the trial court involve an error of law or are unreasonable in light of the sustainable findings of the trial court. Lee, supra. We find the trial court’s conclusions reasonable in light of its factual findings and will not disturb them on appeal. Id.

We also find no merit to Mother’s second issue that this case should be remanded because the court failed to provide a full and fair hearing. Mother contends that she was not given an opportunity to rebut Father’s testimony at the hearing because the court was forced to terminate the hearing early due to a bomb drill. The record, however, belies Mother’s assertion. Following a thorough cross-examination of Father, Mother’s attorney stated that he had no further questions to ask Father. N.T., supra, at 48. It was only when the trial judge began to question Father that the alarm sounded. Id. The judge then asked the parties if they were finished, with the exception of the judge speaking with the child. Id. Mother’s counsel stated, “Yes, I believe so, Your Honor.” Id. As the record reflects, the trial judge gave Mother, through her attorney, the opportunity to respond further, but she declined this offer. Thus, we fail to see how Mother was deprived of her right to a full hearing.

Moreover, after a review of Mother’s brief on this issue, we find that Mother is merely attempting to relitigate the court’s credibility determinations. Mother has also not provided a scintilla of evidence to support her argument other than her assertion that the court chose to ignore documentation corroborating her testimony at the hearing. However, “‘on issues of credibility and weight of the evidence, [an appellate court] defer[s] to the findings of the trial judge, who has had the opportunity to observe the proceedings and demeanor of the witnesses.’ ” Robinson v. Robinson, 538 Pa. 52, 645 A.2d 836, 837 (1994), quoting Mumma v. Mumma, 380 Pa.Super. 18, 21, 550 A.2d 1341, 1343 (1988). Accordingly, we find this issue to be wholly without merit.

Based on the foregoing, we affirm the trial court’s order denying Mother’s request for relocation.

Order AFFIRMED.

Brosky, J., files a Dissenting Opinion.