Schreckhise v. Parry

2019 Ark. App. 48, 568 S.W.3d 782
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedJanuary 30, 2019
DocketNo. CV-18-154
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 2019 Ark. App. 48 (Schreckhise v. Parry) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schreckhise v. Parry, 2019 Ark. App. 48, 568 S.W.3d 782 (Ark. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

BRANDON J. HARRISON, Judge

William Schreckhise appeals the Washington County Circuit Court order giving his ex-wife, Janine Parry, primary custody of the parties' two children. He argues that the circuit court erred in finding (1) that there was a material change of circumstances and (2) that it was in the children's best interest to be placed with Parry. We affirm.

The parties were divorced in October 2013, and the court awarded them joint custody of their two minor children. The divorce decree provided:

*784a. Each party will have the children in his/her care and custody two days of the Monday through Thursday time period. The parties will alternate the Friday through Sunday time periods with the exact hours to be agreed upon by the parties. ...
b. The parties agree to divide equally all holiday and special visitation; however, in the event they are unable to agree, the parties shall follow the holiday and special visitation schedule set forth in the Court's Standard Visitation Schedule[.]

In March 2017, Parry petitioned to modify custody, asserting that there had been a material change of circumstances and that the children should be placed in her primary custody. Parry alleged that Schreckhise and his new wife had created an "adversarial environment that is not in the best interest of the children" and that Schreckhise had refused to provide her with certain information, like the children's medical-care providers and the names of overnight childcare providers. Parry also expressed concern with "a dangerous situation with Defendant's 22-year-old stepson, who is dealing with serious mental and emotional problems that have put the parties' minor children in immediate danger for their health, safety, and welfare." Schreckhise answered and generally denied Parry's claims; he also counterclaimed and argued that if the court does find a material change of circumstances, it would be in the children's best interest to placed in his primary custody.

After a day-long hearing on the matter, the circuit court found that a material change in circumstances had occurred and that it was in the children's best interest that sole custody be awarded to Parry. The court's written order contained these findings:

2. After the divorce, the parties interacted seamlessly and frequently regarding the children and the children's needs.
3. Dr. Schreckhise married in July of 2014. In August of 2014, Dr. Schreckhise began implementing a series of rules about how the parties would communicate, including limited communications in person and preferably only when spouses were available; requiring communication by email unless it was an emergency or time-sensitive, with spouses copied on the communication; and limiting interaction at the children's events to a "hi" or a nod.
4. In the summer of 2015, Dr. Schreckhise expanded the rules to add that Dr. Parry was not to talk to him at work,[1 ] was not to come to his house, was not to walk on the street in front of his house on North Willow Avenue or his wife's house on Washington Street,[2 ] and that they were to have separate parent-teacher conferences for each child.
5. Dr. Schreckhise testified that on the advice of his marriage counselor, he requested Dr. Parry not be present for the children's medical appointments if they fell during his visitation.
6. Dr. Schreckhise refused to inform Dr. Parry about the minor children's overnight childcare providers when requested by Dr. Parry.
7. In July of 2016, Dr. Schreckhise and his wife, Suzannah Schreckhise, became concerned about Dr. Schreckhise's twenty-three-year-old step-son, David Garrison.
*785Mrs. Schreckhise filed an emergency petition for appointment of temporary and permanent guardianship of the person and estate of David. P. Garrison. The affidavit of David Garrison's father, included with Ms. Schreckhise's Petition, noted that David Garrison "since turning 18, has had multiple offenses evidencing a violent tendency including: destruction of property, violence toward family members, and violence toward past girlfriends.... [David has] engaged in reckless and dangerous activities."
8. Dr. Schreckhise allowed David Garrison to baby-sit his then ten-year-old children overnight in a hotel room in the spring of 2015.
9. Dr. Schreckhise did not communicate to Dr. Parry that his wife was seeking guardianship of David Garrison, though David Garrison was going to be in and out of Dr. Schreckhise's home with the parties' minor children present.
10. From September 2016 through December 2016, incidents with David Garrison occurred that resulted in Dr. Schreckhise seeking an order of protection and hiring off-duty police officers to provide security outside his house for a few days.
11. Dr. Schreckhise did not communicate to Dr. Parry about the need for the off-duty police officers or these incidents with David Garrison, except for one incident that occurred on December 25, 2016.[3 ]
12. Other than the Christmas day episode, Dr. Schreckhise's testimony was, "I didn't think I needed to tell [Dr. Parry] about David ... I was handling it."
13. Parents in a joint custodial arrangement have the obligation to communicate with each other about everything that affects the children. The parents' ability to cooperate in making shared decisions affecting the children is crucial and failure to cooperate in doing so constitutes a material change in circumstances.
14. August of 2014 clearly marked a significant shift in the way the parties communicated with each other.
15. This significant shift in the way the parties communicate, based on Dr. Schreckhise's rules, is clearly a material change in circumstances in the joint custodial arrangement, as the parties now are unable to effectively communicate about their children.
16. The joint custody arrangement is no longer in the minor children's best interest.
17. Dr. Schreckhise in an effort to assert his and his wife's autonomy has put up barriers for communication between Dr. Parry and himself. Dr. Schreckhise has followed the advice of his marital counselor to the detriment of his children by putting his new wife and their marriage ahead of the needs of the children. The rules set in place by Dr. Schreckhise are manipulative, controlling, and wholly inappropriate and are not in the minor children's best interest.
18. Dr. Parry has consistently advocated for a shared burden and blessing of taking care of the children and kept a free flow of information between herself and Dr. Schreckhise about the children. Dr. Parry encourages and fosters an open relationship between the children and Dr. Schreckhise and shares all information with him. Dr. Parry's efforts *786and communication with Dr. Schreckhise have been child focused.
19.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2019 Ark. App. 48, 568 S.W.3d 782, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schreckhise-v-parry-arkctapp-2019.