Opinion ID: 2257549
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: shared residency of the children

Text: [¶ 18] The court ordered that Lisa and Gary continue their child sharing arrangement and that the children remain in the Auburn school system regardless of where Lisa chooses to reside. If she chooses to move to Falmouth, the court order permits Gary to move into the Auburn home so the children may remain in the Auburn schools. [¶ 19] Lisa asserts that she is the primary care provider for the children and their best interests are not served by ordering them to attend schools one-half an hour away from where she wants to live. She contends that Gary's activities interfere with his availability for parenting. She argues that the court ignored the recommendations of the guardian ad litem and contends that requiring the children to remain in Auburn when she moves to Falmouth promotes uncertainty. [¶ 20] We review child custody decisions for a clear abuse of discretion or error of law. Boutin v. Dionne, 458 A.2d 426, 426 (Me.1983). In making a decision regarding a child's residence, a court must apply the best interests of the child standard. 19-A M.R.S. § 1653(3) (2005). [7] The court's decision regarding the best interests of the child is entitled to substantial deference and its findings will stand unless clearly erroneous. Hinkley v. Hinkley, 2000 ME 64, ¶ 7, 749 A.2d 752, 754. A finding is clearly erroneous only if there is no competent evidence in the record to support it. Zink v. Zink, 687 A.2d 229, 232 (Me.1996) (quotation marks omitted). [¶ 21] The court had before it the following evidence: Lisa is employed as a nurse in Lewiston and works three twelve-hour shifts each week. She has designed her work schedule to maximize her time with her children and has considerable flexibility to vary her schedule from week-to-week, including breaking up one of her shifts into two shorter shifts. Gary works full-time as an information technology manager in Lewiston. He also plays in a band, which practices one night per week and often performs on the weekends. Although Gary testified that the band's events could be scheduled around the children, the band had previously scheduled a few performances on weekends when he had the children. On those occasions, Gary left the children with his parents or his sister. Gary also plays in a hockey league every Sunday night from September through March, and he works out at the gym three mornings per week. [¶ 22] Both Lisa and Gary have played major roles in parenting the children and both are capable of caring for them. The children's maternal and paternal grandparents live in the Lewiston-Auburn area, have close and supportive relationships with their grandchildren, and often take them for overnights. At the time of the hearing, the children were in the first and third grades in the Auburn school system and had been with the same daycare provider for four years. [¶ 23] The court found that remaining in the Auburn home is ideal for the children, the children share a strong bond with both sets of grandparents, and Lisa has flexibility in her schedule and is available for the children more than Gary is during the day. The court acknowledged Gary's commitments to his personal activities, but determined that it was more important to the children's stability to remain in the home they have been in since birth, in the community in which they have been raised, and in the school and daycare they have been attending. We cannot say that these findings are clearly erroneous. Contrary to Lisa's contentions, the court properly considered the best interests of the children, see 19-A M.R.S. § 1653(3), and gave significant weight to the following factors: the duration and adequacy of the children's current living arrangements; the desirability of maintaining continuity; the stability of the proposed living arrangements for the children; and the children's adjustment to their present home, school, and community, see 19-A M.R.S. § 1653(3)(D), (E), (G). The court did not exceed the bounds of its discretion in determining the best interests of the children. The entry is: Judgment affirmed.