Moden v. Corr

768 N.E.2d 990, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 808
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 30, 2002
DocketNo. 71A03-0112-JV-431
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 768 N.E.2d 990 (Moden v. Corr) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Moden v. Corr, 768 N.E.2d 990, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 808 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION

SHARPNACK, Judge.

James Moden, III, ("Father") appeals the trial court's order regarding custody of and visitation with his three-year old daughter, V.A.M.C. Father raises two issues, which we expand and restate as:

1. Whether two of the trial court's findings of fact are clearly erroncous because they are unsupported by the evidence;
2. Whether the trial court's findings support the trial court's decision to award physical custody to Rosa Corr ("Mother"); and
3. Whether the trial court abused its discretion, exceeded its statutory authority, or violated Father's constitutional right to free association when it ordered that Father's fiancé, Rebecca Rohrs, is not to have contact with V.A.M.C. when V.A.M.C. is in Father's custody.

We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

The facts most favorable to the judgment follow.1 Mother and her husband, Edward Corr, live in South Bend with their two children, who are twelve and four [992]*992years old. Father lives in Napoleon, Ohio. During the course of the Corrs' marriage, Mother had an affair with Father, and that affair resulted in the conception of V.A.M.C. While Mother was pregnant with V.AM.C., the Corrs decided to remain married and Mother discontinued contact with Father. After Father's relationship with Mother ended, Father began dating and is now engaged to Rohrs, who has two teenage children from a prior marriage.

V.AM.C. was born on May 25, 1999. Mother refused to allow Father to see V.AM.C. On June 15, 1999, Father filed a Petition to Establish Paternity of V.A.M.C. On November 12, 1999, Father's paternity was established. At that time, the trial court gave temporary custody of V.A.M.C. to Mother, ordered Father to pay child support, and established times when Father could visit with V.A.M.C. Since the entry of that initial order, the parties have been back in court a number of times to modify the temporary visitation and support order.

In August of 2001, the trial court held fact-finding hearings to determine permanent custody, visitation, and support issues. Following the hearings and the parties' submission of proposed findings and conclusions, the trial court issued an order that gave sole custody of V.A.M.C. to Mother. The trial court's order also gave Father visitation with V.A.M.C. according to the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines; however, it prohibited Father from allowing Rohrs to have contact with V.A.M.C. Specifically, the trial court's order included the following:

Following a hearing before Jane Woodward Miller, MAGISTRATE of the St. Joseph Probate Court on August 20, 2001, August 22, 2001, August 28, 2001 and August 24, 2001, and after considering the evidence and argument of counsel, the MAGISTRATE enters the following FINDINGS OF FACT and
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW which are adopted as the FINDINGS and ORDER of the Court:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1). [V.AM.C.] is the child of [Mother] and [Father]. She was born May 25, 1999.
2). At the time of [V.A.M.C.]'s conception and birth, [Mother] was married to [Corr]. During the course of the relationship between [V.AM.C.]'s parents, the parties discussed marriage. An action to dissolve the Corr marriage was initiated; however, [Mother] and her husband ultimately decided to remain married. This decision was made after [V.A.M.C.]'s conception but before her birth.
3). [Corr] and [Mother] are still married. The Corrs have two children, [B.C.], 12, and [A.C.], 4. [V.AM.C.] lives with her half siblings, [Mother] and [Corr] in South Bend, Indiana. [V.A.M.C.] reportedly has a good relationship with all in her household. [V.AM.C.] is particularly close to her four[-lyear old brother, [A.C.].
4). [Father] is single and lives in Napoleon, Ohio with his parents. [V.A.M.C.] is [Father]'s only child. After the termination of his relationship with [Mother], he became engaged to his next[-]door neighbor, [Rohrs]. [Rohrs] has two teen-age children. No wedding is set for the Robrs-[Father] marriage. [Rohrs] and [Father] are awaiting the outcome of the custody hearing before making further plans.
'[Mother] ended. 5). At some point before birth, contact between [Father] and [Mother] would not speak with [Father]. She did not notify [Father] of [V.AM.C.]'s birth. On June 15, 1999, [Father] filed a petition to establish paternity of [V.A.M.C.]. Until paternity and his legal relationship to his [993]*993daughter were established, [Father] was not permitted to see [V.A.M.C.].
6). At the November 12, 1999 hearing on [Father]'s petition to establish paternity, this Court granted [Mother] temporary custody of [V.A.M.C.], ordered [Father] to pay support for his daughter's care and entered an order of specific visitation. [Father] has both visited and paid his support regularly.
7). Since the temporary order was entered, the parties have returned to Court a number of times:
a). On January 18, 2000, [Father] filed a Petition to Modify Visitation. By agreement of the parties, the location of visitation was modified to a place outside the Corr home. The Court also directed that the parties participate in co-parenting counseling with Dr. Anthony Berardi.
b). In May, 2000, [Father] again sought a return to Court. At hearing on July 19, 2000, the Court was advised co-parenting counseling had not begun. The Court reaffirmed its order regarding Dr. Berardi and denied [Father]'s request for expanded visitation.
c). On August 25, 2000, [Father] filed an "Emergency Verified Petition to Modify Visitation." By agreement, the South Bend Police Department became the place of [V.AM.C.]'s exchange.
d). On September 22, 2000, [Father] filed a Petition to Modify Support and to implement the St. Joseph County Standard Visitation Guidelines. On October 16, 2000 this Court modified the support order and denied the visitation petition.
e). Later, while participating in counseling, the parties arrived at an agreement regarding visitation. On November 30, 2000, the Court entered an order modifying visitation. This modified order reflected the agreement reached by the parties.
£). In March, 2001, [Father] requested the Court order a forensic evaluation of the parties. This request was granted and the parties were referred to Dr. Suzanne Watson for evaluation.
8). Since paternity was established, [Father] has expressed a number of concerns regarding [V.AM.C.]s physical well-being:
a) According to the DRCB report dated March 283, 2000 (Father's Exhibit B), [Father] and [Rohrs] "expressed concern about the nutrition provided to [V.AM.C.] in mother's home."
b). On August 2, 2000, Dr. Wycoff, [V.AM.C.]'s physician, reported to Child Protective Services "she (the doctor) felt whatever medical information she provided to him ([Father]) about [V.A.M.C.] was not good enough for him. She stated she had no concerns of the child, that the child was gaining weight and growing otherwise satisfactorily but that the father himself was not satisfied with her findings." (Mother's Exhibit 1). Dr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Nunn v. Nunn
791 N.E.2d 779 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2003)
Moden v. Corr
773 N.E.2d 359 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2002)
In Re Paternity of VAMC
768 N.E.2d 990 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2002)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
768 N.E.2d 990, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 808, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moden-v-corr-indctapp-2002.