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Estranged parents in Pennsylvania might wonder whether a court is likely to award shared custody when there is parental conflict. Recently the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, in S.A.W. v. R.J.S. (non-precedential), No. 2214 MDA 2015 (August 5, 2016), heard an appeal from a Father hoping to overturn a shared custody decision. The Father argued that shared custody was not in the children’s best interests because the parents were incapable of cooperating with […]

When one parent moves to a new neighborhood after having equal shared custody, the move might cause a longer commute time for a children traveling to and from school.  In a recent published decision, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania considered whether it was reasonable to shift primary custody to one parent in order to limit the child’s commuting time. In R.S. v. T.T., 2015 Pa. Super. 72 (April 10, 2015), […]

A new Superior Court decision arising from Northampton County affirms the constitutional advantage that biological parents have in custody proceedings against grandparents and other third parties. In V.B. and C.B. v. J.E.B. and C.C. (2012 PA Super 200, 9/21/12), the Court reversed a decision in which the trial court awarded primary custody to the grandparents. The Court held that the presumption in favor of parents was not overcome by evidence […]

LAM v. CR (2012 PA Super 45, February 27, 2012) – Superior Court affirmed decision to allow Mother to relocate from York County to Boston. No majority opinion was issued, but Judge Donohue published a dissenting opinion. In her opinion, Judge Donohue criticized the majority’s holding that the 2011 Child Custody Act did not apply. Mother filed a complaint for custody on November 3, 2010, with a request to relocate, […]

In M.O. v. F.W. (2012 PA Super 49, February 28, 2012), the Superior Court considered a case in which custody litigation began even before the child was born. Initially, the child’s mother exercised primary physical custody, and the father had partial custody for six overnights every two weeks (nearly an equal shared custody arrangement). When the child was two or three years old, Father accused Mother and her boyfriend of […]

In CMK v. KEM (March 27, 2012), the Superior Court took up the case of a mother who followed the notice procedures for custody relocation under the 2011 custody statute. She sent a notice to her child’s father, advising him that she intended to move from Grove City, Mercer County, to Albion, Erie County, a distance of 68 miles. Father objected to the relocation, and the trial court held a […]