Opinion ID: 1668965
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: split custody

Text: Joel also argues that the trial court erred when it separated the three youngest children from the two oldest because it is not in the best interests of the younger children to be separated from their siblings. Although split custody is not flatly prohibited, as a general rule we do not look favorably upon separating siblings in custody cases. Freed v. Freed, 454 N.W.2d 516, 519 (N.D. 1990). Jay M. Zitter, Annotation, Child Custody: Separating Children by Custody Awards to Different ParentsPost-1975 Cases, 67 A.L.R.4th 354 (1989 & Supp.). The exceptional circumstances that have been present in our previous split custody cases are not present here. For example, in Freed, there was a large age difference between the split siblings, the older child was close to the age of emancipation and voiced a custody preference, the parents' residences were only a few miles apart from each other, and liberal visitation was granted by the court. 454 N.W.2d at 519-20. Our concerns over the split custody arrangement are exacerbated by evidence Quinta may be poisoning the children's minds against Joel and his family. See Olson v. Olson, 361 N.W.2d 249, 251 (N.D.1985) (Divorced parents and the respective grandparents should always exercise extreme caution to avoid poisoning the mind of the child toward the other parent or grandparent, particularly in cases of joint or split custody. (quoting Lapp v. Lapp, 293 N.W.2d 121 (N.D.1980))). Such behavior by Quinta is an attack on part of the children's identities. To the extent it is believed, it tends to deprive a child of the emotional support of the non-custodial parent at a time when the child's need for such an emotional source is probably at its greatest.