Opinion ID: 1894248
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: whether the trial court erred in denying mother's motion to change custody of dana from father to her.

Text: Only one day after the court granted custody of Dana to father, mother changed her mind and subsequently filed a motion requesting that the court award her Dana's custody due to a complete change of circumstances. Mother claimed that since she failed in her attempts to provide a two-parent adoptive family home for Dana that she is now trying to do the next best thing for her child, to-wit: to raise the child herself. She asserts that this is a substantial change in circumstances sufficient to justify a change in custody. The criteria for maintaining an action to change obligations in a paternity action, once a custody order has been entered, is not established in South Dakota. However, it is well settled that in order to maintain an action for change of custody of a minor child when custody was litigated and determined in a divorce proceeding, that the movant be required to show that there has been a substantial and material change in circumstances since the entry of the last custody order and that a change in custody would be in the welfare and best interests of the child. Mayer v. Mayer, 397 N.W.2d 638 (S.D.1986); Flint v. Flint, 334 N.W.2d 680 (S.D.1983); Masek v. Masek, 90 S.D. 1, 237 N.W.2d 432 (S.D.1976); Hershey v. Hershey, 85 S.D. 85, 117 N.W.2d 267 (1970). We now hold that a change in custody of a minor child based upon an order entered as a result of a paternity action should be governed by the principles and factors, applied and followed, in divorce cases where custody is involved. We find under the facts of this case that mother simply did not meet her burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that (1) a substantial and material change of circumstances occurred since the custody order was entered and (2) that the welfare and best interest of Dana required modification. Mother's change of mind simply is not a material and substantial change of circumstances. Mayer, supra; Sneesby v. Davis, 308 N.W.2d 565 (S.D.1981). Mother knew or should have known from the beginning of the proceedings that placement of custody with father was a possible outcome. Furthermore, nothing prevented mother, in the paternity proceedings, from pleading in the alternative seeking custody of Dana should the court not approve her adoption preference. Mother had consistently sought to place the child for adoption and appeared to rescind this desire or rather, make her plea for custody only for the purpose of resisting the father's quest to gain custody of his son. As the natural father has continually and consistently sought the custody of Dana and was willing and able to assume full responsibility of parenting him from the beginning, we agree with the trial court that the father should retain custody. Re Anonymous, 97 Misc.2d 927, 416 N.Y.S. 2d 729 (1979). The trial court did not abuse its discretion in entering judgment for him. Mayer, supra; Kolb v. Kolb, 324 N.W.2d 279 (S.D.1982); Sneesby, supra .