Opinion ID: 1780710
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Proper Application of the Devine Factors

Text: I disagree with using only a factor-driven analysis in custody determinations, especially in a case such as this one where the finding of fault in the divorce can easily decide who should be awarded custody. Nevertheless, even an analysis under Ex parte Devine demonstrates the error of the trial court, when under such a factor-driven analysis the father should have been awarded custody. The Devine factors, relevant for purposes of this case, include the following: (1) the child's emotional, social, moral, material, and educational needs; [ (2) ] the respective home environments offered by the parties; [ (3) ] the characteristics of those seeking custody, including age, character, stability, mental and physical health; [(4) ] the capacity and interest of each parent to provide for the emotional, social, moral, material and educational needs of the [child]; [ (5) ] the interpersonal relationship between [the] child and each parent;... [and (6) ] the effect on the child of disrupting or continuing an existing custodial status. 398 So.2d at 696-97. The father's argument on appeal addressed each of these factors. The Court of Civil Appeals virtually ignored the Devine factors, even though the trial court failed to make any specific findings of fact on the custody issue in the divorce judgment. At least four of the Devine factors favor the father: the child's needs; the respective home environments; the capacity of each parent to provide for those needs; and the displayed character of each parent. Financially, the father makes a great deal more money than the mother and has a stable full-time job in the Army and therefore is better equipped to meet the child's material and perhaps educational needs. The mother has been able to hold only a series of part-time jobs since the birth of the child, and she has another child to provide for as well. The father has demonstrated that he will make the time commitments necessary to provide stability for a young child. While stationed in Kentucky for about a year, the father made the eight-hour trip to Alabama to spend weekends with his son all but eight weekends. Since he was transferred to Alabama, the father has spent every available weekend with his son. In contrast, while the mother and the child were living in Alabama, the mother left the child with the maternal grandmother while she traveled to New Orleans and Dothan on weekends with friends. When the family lived in New York, the mother regularly went out with friends, leaving the child and the father at home, not telling the father where she was going, and not returning on some occasions until 5:00 in the morning. The father's commitment to his son should not be surprising, considering that he has been committed to his marriage, even seeking reconciliation with his wife after learning of her adulterous conduct. The home environments of the father and the mother contrast sharply as well. The father attends church with the child, has not engaged in any extramarital activity, and has demonstrated exemplary conduct, according to the facts before us. [13] The mother, on the other hand, has not only admitted to having had four extramarital affairs, but she has also admitted to smoking marijuana and experimenting with cocaine. The mother also admitted to using profanity regularly around the house. The father's home environment appears impeccable, and he has supportive parents in Alabama who are willing to take care of the child when the father is on temporary military assignments. The mental and emotional states of the parents also favor giving custody to the father. The father has no history of emotional or mental problems and has not had stress-related problems despite demanding military duties and transfers. The mother, however, was diagnosed with postpartum depression after the birth of the child, and once required emergency care for overdosing on acetaminophen apparently because of depression, for which she was prescribed medication. While the father was stationed in Korea, the mother complained of stress related to taking care of the child and was prescribed medication for the stress. In short, all of the relevant Devine factors weigh in favor of awarding custody of the child to the father. In light of the overwhelming evidence, it is difficult to see how the trial court or the Court of Civil Appeals could have concluded that the mother should be awarded primary custody, even using Devine's factor-driven analysis.