Golalic, I. v. Golalic, S.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 27, 2026
Docket1034 WDA 2025
StatusUnpublished
AuthorOlson

This text of Golalic, I. v. Golalic, S. (Golalic, I. v. Golalic, S.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Golalic, I. v. Golalic, S., (Pa. Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

J-A29025-25

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

IGOR GOLALIC : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA Appellant : : : v. : : : SANJA SRETENOVIC GOLALIC : No. 1034 WDA 2025

Appeal from the Order Entered August 21, 2025 In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Family Court at No(s): FD No. 15-009369-006

BEFORE: OLSON, J., DUBOW, J., and BENDER, P.J.E.

MEMORANDUM BY OLSON, J.: FILED: February 27, 2026

Appellant, Igor Golalic (“Father”), appeals from the August 21, 2025

order directing that he and Sanja Sretenovic Golalic (“Mother”) (collectively,

“Parents”) enroll their eight-year-old child, T.G., in Colfax Elementary School

(“Colfax”), unless they agree otherwise. After careful review, we affirm.

The record reveals the following relevant factual and procedural history.

Mother and Father were married in January 2010 and share three minor sons,

S.G. (born in September 2011), M.G. (born in June 2013), and T.G. (born in

October 2016) (collectively, “the Children”). Mother initiated the underlying

divorce and custody action against Father in 2015, prior to T.G.’s birth.

Parents agreed to engage in marital counseling and did not pursue the divorce J-A29025-25

action at the time. See Orders, 12/16/15 and 1/14/16.1 Likewise, Mother’s

complaint for custody was summarily dismissed for lack of pursuit. See Order,

12/28/15. Despite their ultimate separation in 2017, Parents continued to

reside with S.G., M.G., and T.G. following his birth, in the marital home in the

Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh until approximately June 2023.2 See N.T.,

10/3/24, at 15, 24.

On June 20, 2023, Mother sought and obtained a temporary protection

from abuse order against Father that excluded him from the Squirrel Hill

home. See Temporary Protection from Abuse Order, 6/20/23, at ¶ 2. Mother

alleged that Father threatened and chased her and, subsequently, absconded

with her car, stranding her and the Children. See Temporary Protection from

Abuse Petition, 6/20/23, at ¶ 11. Parents resolved the protection from abuse

action by consent order which, inter alia, awarded Mother primary physical

custody and Father partial physical custody three weekends per month on an

interim basis. See Order, 8/1/23.

____________________________________________

1 Except for the subject order on appeal, we reference and cite all orders herein not by their issue date or filed dated but by their date of entry as reflected on the docket.

2 It is undisputed that Parents additionally had a residence in Columbus, Ohio

until approximately 2022, where Father spent time due to his former employment, as well as a residence in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. See Complaint to Confirm Primary Physical Custody and Joint Legal Custody, 12/3/15, at ¶¶ 2, 3; Petition for Exclusive Possession of the Marital Residence, 9/28/23, at ¶ 7; Petition for Special Relief - Sale of Ligonier Residence, 8/13/25, at ¶ 16; see also N.T., 10/3/24, at 22, 23; N.T., 10/4/24, at 305, 328-29.

-2- J-A29025-25

In the meantime, on July 3, 2023, Father filed a complaint for custody

seeking shared custody of the Children, then eleven, ten, and six years old.

See Complaint for Shared Custody, 7/3/23, at 5. At that time, while Mother

remained in the marital home in Squirrel Hill, Father resided in Parents’

residence in Ligonier.3 See id. at ¶¶ 4, 5; see also N.T., 10/4/24, at 328-

29. The Children attended school at Shady Side Academy (“Shady Side”), a

private school with campuses located in the Fox Chapel and Point Breeze

neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. Specifically, S.G. attended the middle school

campus in Fox Chapel, and M.G. and T.G. attended the elementary school

campus in Point Breeze. See N.T., 10/26/23, at 5-6. Relevant to this appeal,

the Children continued to attend Shady Side through the 2024-25 school year,

as ordered by the court. See Order, 8/21/24; see also N.T., 10/4/24, at

309-12, 316-17.

The court ultimately entered an agreed-upon final custody order on April

28, 2025, which awarded the parties shared legal and physical custody on a

4-3-3-4 schedule during the 2025-26 school year, with an alternating weekly

schedule during the summer.4 See Order, 4/28/25, at ¶¶ 4, 5. The order

3 At some time thereafter, unspecified in the certified record, Father also obtained an apartment in Fox Chapel. See N.T., 10/3/24, at 15, 24; N.T., 11/13/24, at 430-31.

4 Specifically, as to the custodial schedule during the school year, the order

provided, as follows: (Footnote Continued Next Page)

-3- J-A29025-25

also addressed the specific schools that the Children were to attend during the

2025-26 school year. S.G., M.G., and T.G., were then in seventh, fifth, and

second grades, respectively. In pertinent part, the order provided, as follows:

11. S.G. and M.G. shall attend [Shady Side] through and including the 2025-26 academic year, at Mother’s sole expense.[5] T.G. shall attend Fox Chapel School District (O’Hara Elementary [School (“O’Hara”)]) for the 2025-26 school year and thereafter.

12. Unless the parties agree otherwise, or order of court, all the children shall attend Fox Chapel School District for the 2026-27 academic year and thereafter, so long as one party or the other lives in the district.

Order, 4/28/25 (cleaned up). Further, of relevance, the order dictated that

neither party was to “relocate” in contravention of the requirements of 23

a. Mother shall exercise custody of the Children every week from Monday after school (or 3 p.m. if there is no school) until Thursday morning until return to school (or 3 p.m. if there is no school);

b. Father shall exercise custody of the Children every week from Friday after school (or 3 p.m. if there is no school) until Monday morning return to school (or 3 p.m. if there is no school).

c. The parties shall alternate the Thursday custodial period, from Thursday after school (or 3 p.m. if there is no school) until Friday return to school (or 3 p.m. if there is no school), with Father exercising the first Thursday custodial period following the first day of school.

Order, 4/28/25, at ¶ 5.

5 As best we can discern, S.G. and M.G. would both be attending Shady Side’s

Fox Chapel campus.

-4- J-A29025-25

Pa.C.S.A. § 5337.6 Id. at ¶ 13. In addition, Mother was permitted to maintain

possession of the marital home in Squirrel Hill until October 1, 2025. See id.

at ¶ 14.

In or about July 2025, Father moved within the Fox Chapel School

District. See Father’s Response to Mother’s Petition for Special Relief,

8/14/25, at ¶¶ 5, 6. Father averred that he relied on advertising that children

residing in his new neighborhood attend O’Hara. See id. at ¶ 6. However,

on July 14, 2025, the school district advised Father that T.G. was assigned to

attend Kerr Elementary School (“Kerr”). See id. at ¶ 7. Significantly, the

solicitor from the school district explained to Father that, due to capacity,

children from his community are, in fact, assigned to Kerr, as opposed to

O’Hara. See id. at ¶ 8.

On August 4, 2025, Mother served the subject petition for special relief

limited to the discrete issue of which school T.G. will attend in 2025-26, as he

was unable to attend O’Hara due to Father’s “relocation.” Petition for Special

Relief-Custody-Return to Status Quo, 8/13/25, at ¶¶ 9, 10, 14. According to

Mother, the provision that T.G. attend O’Hara was specifically negotiated for

the parties’ convenience.

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