Opinion ID: 1130069
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Did the Superior Court Err by Disregarding the GAL's Custody Recommendation?

Text: Virginia's final point is that the superior court erred by disregarding the GAL's custody recommendation. The superior court gave four reasons for rejecting the alternating years proposal: (1) both parents do not favor the arrangement; (2) Morgan has thrived in his current living situation; (3) Morgan is approaching his teen-age years, with their accompanying out-of-family activities; and (4) the nine-month/three-month arrangement still provides significant contact with each parent. Virginia argues with respect to the first reason, that even though she preferred primary custody, given a choice between the current arrangement and alternating years she would choose the latter. The superior court is not required to follow the GAL's recommendation. So long as the superior court's reasons for rejecting the custody investigation are not clearly erroneous, the superior court does not abuse its discretion. [13] In the present case, reasons (2)-(4) above are supported by the record, [14] and standing alone are sufficient to reject the alternating years arrangement. Thus, any error with respect to reason (1) is harmless. Therefore we conclude that the superior court did not abuse its discretion.