J.E.F v. A.D.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided July 10, 2026·No. 2842 EDA 2025·Unpublished·Lazarus

Opinion

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

J.E.F. : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA :

v. :

: :

A.D. :

:

Appellant : No. 2842 EDA 2025

Appeal from the Order Entered October 7, 2025 In the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County Civil Division at No(s):

2023-03380-CU

BEFORE: LAZARUS, P.J., SULLIVAN, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E. *

MEMORANDUM BY LAZARUS, P.J.: FILED JULY 10, 2026

A.D. (“Mother”) appeals from the order, entered in the Court of Common

Pleas of Chester County, granting shared legal and physical custody of minor

child J.F. (“Child”) (born 8/15) to her and J.E.F. (“Father”). After our review,

we affirm.

The trial court thoroughly summarized the testimony at the custody

hearing in this matter as follows:

[Father] and [Mother] are the parents of [Child]. This matter comes before the court on Father’s petition to modify custody filed in December 2024. Father seeks shared physical custody; Mother opposes the petition and wishes [to] retain primary [physical] custody of [Child]. Legal custody is shared and not at issue. Trial was held over two days on September 23, 2025 and September 24, 2025.

...

* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.

After a nine-year marriage, Mother and Father divorced in October 2020, when [Child] was five years old. Father testified he was working as an executive chef at that time, which entailed keeping irregular and demanding hours and which prevented him from spending much time with [Child]. He indicated that he was also drinking routinely then, as is customary in the restaurant industry. At the time of their divorce, the parties agreed that Mother would have primary [physical] custody of [Child]; Father testified that this was because his work schedule only allowed him to firmly commit to certain times and he didn’t want to put himself in a position of not exercising scheduled custody. But, he testified, that agreement “is regrettable now because I didn’t realize how hard it would be to get time back.”

In July 2021, Father had an epiphany while riding the Ferris wheel with [Child] at the Malvern Fair. He testified that [Child]’s capacity for wonder and joy in that moment struck him in a way that made him truly comprehend the ephemeral nature of childhood, and of life. He realized that too much of his time was consumed by his career and its appurtenant vices, especially alcohol. Father never drank again after that moment. Also around that time, Father began to significantly dial back from his high-powered career to spend more time caring for his mother, who has Alzheimer's disease, and for [Child]. At some point, Father stopped working outside the home altogether.1 1 The notion arose at trial that father’s “unemployment” should weigh against him. While the court certainly does not attribute this notion to Mother, the court feels compelled to note that, as a married couple, Father and [his wife] Amber’s division of labor within their household is entirely their prerogative so long as they can support themselves and [Child] and meet their financial obligations, which all evidence indicates they can. That Father chooses not to work outside the home is his and Amber’s decision, and one that in all likelihood would not be second-guessed if Father were a woman. The court does not weigh this against Father.

Father’s relationship with his wife[,] Amber, who is also sober, began shortly after the Ferris wheel moment. Father moved into Amber’s home in Nazareth, Northampton County, sometime in 2022[.] Around this time[,] the parties agreed to slight changes in their custody arrangement to reflect that Father was now living an hour and a half away. The informality of this arrangement, as

well as developments in both parties’ personal lives (not the least of which was Father’s move to Northampton County) caused significant breakdown in the parties’ ability to synergistically co[- ]parent, and Father filed this custody action in May 2023. The parties agreed to a stipulated custody order in August of that year, under which Father had partial custody on alternating weekends. Father testified, however, that he believed Mother would be open to discussing shared custody if Father moved closer to her home in Malvern.

To that end, Father and Amber purchased their current home in rural Boyerstown, Berks County, in August 2024. The Boyertown home is 45[ to ]50 minutes from both [Child]’s school and Mother’s home in Malvern. Father and Amber keep many animals on their property in Boyertown, which Father hopes to also turn into a working honey and mushroom farm. Father testified that [Child] loves spending time with the animals and exploring the wooded property and that he regularly completes his chores, which include feeding the ducks and helping to keep the house in order. Father enjoys taking [Child] to his hockey practices, playing video games, and attending special events together. [Child] has a good relationship with Amber’s nieces and nephews and has friends in the area. [Child] has his own room and game room at the Boyertown home but spends much of his time outside. Father drives [Child] to school every other Monday morning, and while the drive takes around 45 minutes, Father testified that he finds this time meaningful because [Child] tends to open up to him while in the backseat (a common phenomenon for tweens and teens who prefer not to make direct eye contact with their parents for some reason that remains a biological mystery). During these drives, Father and [Child] also call [Child]’s grandfather, tell jokes[,] or work on times tables.

Father testified that [Child] has recently questioned why he can’t spend more time at Father’s house. To his credit, Father has responded simply that this is the arrangement, without mentioning that he is seeking more time in this action. But Father is worried that [Child] is starting to think that Father doesn’t want to spend more time with [Child].

Amber, [Child]’s stepmother, clearly cares for [Child] deeply and has essentially built her life around Father[] and [Child]’s relationship. Amber testified that she specifically chose her current career path as a facility manager so that the couple would be financially secure and have health benefits so Father could

solely focus on being a parent to [Child]. She also sold her house and turned another property into a rental for the income it could provide and moved so Father could be closer to [Child]’s Mother and school. Father and Amber testified that [Child] has been involved in every aspect of their relationship and [] even helped Father propose to Amber. Father and Amber had a long engagement because [Child] had been through many recent changes and they wanted to ensure [he] was emotionally secure before they tied the knot. Amber acknowledged that she is not [Child]’s mother and she tries not to cross any boundaries in respect of that role. Amber described herself as a loving and caring adult in [Child]’s life who would always support him. [Amber believes that Father respects Mother’s relationship with Child and that he also supports any efforts to foster and strengthen Child’s relationship with her.] The court credits this testimony.

Heather Laurnan, Amber’s sister, lives only nine miles away from Father’s house and has two children. She has known Father and [Child] for approximately four years and the families often get together and travel for holidays and other events. Heather described [Child] as a very bright and creative boy and [stated] that he has fun with her two slightly older children. Heather testified that Father is an attentive and engaged father whose love for [Child] is very apparent. She observed that Amber, Father, and [Child] are a tight family unit.

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J.E.F v. A.D., (Pa. Ct. App. 2026).

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