Opinion ID: 1168325
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: changed circumstances test

Text: Theresa also contends that the trial court erred in ruling that there were changed circumstances that justified the change of custody. Hogge v. Hogge, 649 P.2d 51 (Utah 1982), is the leading, although not the first, authority in Utah on the changed-circumstances test. Hogge held that a parent seeking a change in custody of a child must first establish that there has been a substantial and material change in the circumstances upon which the original custody award was based, and second and thereafter, that a change in custody is in the best interests of the child. See also Hirsch v. Hirsch, 725 P.2d 1320, 1321 (Utah 1986); Moody v. Moody, 715 P.2d 507, 508-09 (Utah 1985); Shioji v. Shioji, 712 P.2d 197, 200 (Utah 1985). In Becker v. Becker, 694 P.2d 608, 610 (Utah 1984), we explained the necessary nexus between the changed circumstances and the welfare of the child: The asserted change must, therefore, have some material relationship to and substantial effect on parenting ability or the functioning of the presently existing custodial relationship. In the absence of an indication that the change has or will have such effect, the materiality requirement is not met. But that does not mean that the circumstances of the noncustodial parent are always irrelevant to the inquiry. Since Becker, we have held that a change in the circumstances of the noncustodial parent may bear upon the issue of whether a change of custody may be appropriate. Kramer v. Kramer, 738 P.2d 624, 629 (Utah 1987) (opinion of Howe, J., concurred in by Hall, C.J., and Stewart, Assoc. C.J.); Hirsch, 725 P.2d at 1321. Indeed, Hogge was itself a case which held that a change in circumstances could be predicated on the noncustodial parent's regaining her emotional stability subsequent to the initial custody decree. 649 P.2d at 52-53. Accord Smith v. Smith, 564 P.2d 307 (Utah 1977). Furthermore, the changed-circumstances rule should be applied with due regard for the policies it was designed to further. Two principal policies are served by the rule. First, the emotional, intellectual, and moral development of a child depends upon a reasonable degree of stability in its relationships to important people and to its environment. Second, the courts typically favor the one-time adjudication of a matter to prevent the undue burdening of the courts and the harassing of parties by repetitive actions. See Hogge, 649 P.2d at 53-54; Kramer, 738 P.2d at 628 (opinion of Stewart, Assoc. C.J.). [1] However, the res judicata aspect of the rule must always be subservient to the best interests of the child. The courts have long held that even when an initial decree has adjudicated the best interests of a child, a subsequent proceeding could reopen that decree if material facts were not before the court, Kallas v. Kallas, 614 P.2d 641, 643 (Utah 1980); Stratton v. Stratton, 87 Idaho 118, 123, 391 P.2d 340, 342 (1964), or if the circumstances pertaining to the decree had subsequently changed, so that a new determination should be made based on a full development of all material facts. See Hirsch, 725 P.2d at 1321; Hogge, 649 P.2d at 53-54. However, custody decrees are not always adjudicated, and when they are not, the res judicata policy underlying the changed-circumstances rule is at a particularly low ebb. Even more importantly, an unadjudicated custody decree is not based on an objective, impartial determination of the best interests of the child. When a child's custody is determined by stipulation or default, the custody determination may in fact be at odds with the best interests of the child. See Friederwitzer v. Friederwitzer, 55 N.Y.2d 89, 432 N.E.2d 765, 447 N.Y.S.2d 893 (1982). [2] When based on a stipulation or default, a custody decree may reflect such fortuitous and extraneous factors as improper influence exercised by one parent over the other or a temporary loss of resolve by one parent caused by stress, guilt, or financial distress that causes that parent to give in to the demands of the other. Whether the best interests of the child are in fact served by a custody arrangement determined by stipulation or default, therefore, is often just plainly fortuitous. By contrast, a judicial determination of custody based on the child's best interests is based on an objective and impartial comparison of the parenting skills, character, and abilities of both parents in light of a realistic and objective appraisal of the needs of a child. Justice Howe's opinion in Kramer v. Kramer, 738 P.2d 624, 629 (Utah 1987), [3] in which Chief Justice Hall and the author of this opinion concurred, noted that the changed-circumstances rule should not be rigidly applied when custody was based on an unadjudicated decree: In such instances [i.e., a custody award made in a default divorce case], there is no determination made by the court as to which parent would be superior in raising the child. Too rigid an application of the rule advocated by the majority would lock a child into the custody of one parent or the other where there has been no determination on the merits of parenting ability of either parent and custody has been awarded only because of the default of one parent in failing to oppose the complaint of the other. A child should not be subjected to spending the rest of his or her minority in an inferior environment because of the inaction of one parent at the time custody is awarded. Many people at the time of divorce are at a low ebb in their lives. Finances are strained, and emotions run high. Many are so discouraged that they seek the easy way out. Rules on custody should not be adopted which are so inflexible that they do not make allowance for these unfortunate realities. Nevertheless, if an existing custody arrangement is not inimical to the child, the continuity and stability of the arrangement are factors to be weighed in determining a child's best interests. What particular weight to be accorded those factors in a given case must depend on the duration of the initial custody arrangement, the age of the child, the nature of the relationship that has developed between the child and the custodial and noncustodial parents, and how well the child is thriving physically, mentally, and emotionally. A very short custody arrangement of a few months, even if nurturing to some extent, is not entitled to as much weight as a similar arrangement of substantial duration. Cf. S.N.E. v. R.L.B., 699 P.2d 875, 879 n. 7 (Alaska 1985). Of course, a lengthy custody arrangement in which a child has thrived ought rarely, if at all, to be disturbed, and then only if the circumstances are compelling. The stability with which the law is primarily concerned is not the stability of the legal custody arrangement as such, but rather the stability that makes possible the psychological and emotional security that underlies a child's well-developed sense of self-worth and self-confidence. Children may live for a long time under a formal custody arrangement and yet be psychologically adrift and unable either to form close relationships or to develop fully their talents, faculties, and character. In such a situation, rigid application of the changed-circumstances rule may well harm the child. In Burchard v. Garay, 42 Cal.3d 531, 538-39, 724 P.2d 486, 491, 229 Cal. Rptr. 800, 805 (1986), the California Supreme Court observed: Consider, for example, a case in which a couple separate, and in the emotional turmoil of the separation the less suitable spouse takes custody of the child. In a later custody proceeding, the noncustodial parent may be able to prove that the custodial parent is unable to provide proper care, but not that his or her ability to do so has deteriorated since the separation. In such a case the changed-circumstance rule might require the court to confirm a custody not in the best interest of the child. Or, to take another example, a child may be born out of wedlock to a woman who for some reason is not able to give it suitable care. The changed-circumstance rule would require the father, when he seeks custody, to prove not only that the mother is unsuitable, but that she has become more so since the baby's birth. In this example, the changed-circumstance rule again might require the court to endorse a custodial arrangement harmful to the child. (Footnote omitted.) In short, the stability that the changed-circumstances rule fosters should be viewed as a means of promoting the ultimate objective, the overall best interests of the child. See Utah Code Ann. § 30-3-10 (1989). See also Kramer, 738 P.2d at 626. Justice Howe made that point in his separate opinion in Kramer, 738 P.2d at 629: The best interests of the child should never be lost sight of, and rules on change in custody should not be so rigid that this overarching principle is not followed. Certainly, it is possible that the principle of stability, if too rigidly adhered to, can result in the continuation of custody in a parent who is indifferent to, or even destructive of, the child's welfare. That possibility is less likely to occur, however, when initial custody is determined by a litigated decree. For the above reasons, a number of courts have held that the changed-circumstances rule does not apply when custody is determined by stipulation or default. See, e.g., Hill v. Hill, 228 Kan. 680, 685, 620 P.2d 1114, 1119 (1980); DeFranco v. DeFranco, 67 Ill. App.3d 760, 765, 24 Ill.Dec. 130, 134, 384 N.E.2d 997, 1001 (1978), called into question by In re Custody of Horne, 77 Ill.2d 414, 419-20, 33 Ill.Dec. 110, 112, 396 N.E.2d 499, 501 (1979); McDonald v. McDonald, 13 Ill. App.3d 87, 89, 299 N.E.2d 787, 789 (1973); Friederwitzer v. Friederwitzer, 55 N.Y.2d 89, 94-95, 432 N.E.2d 765, 768, 447 N.Y.S.2d 893, 896 (1982); Timmons v. Timmons, 94 Wash.2d 594, 598-99, 617 P.2d 1032, 1035 (1980). Cf. Stewart v. Stewart, 619 P.2d 606 (Okla. 1980); Espersen v. Davidow, 359 Pa.Super. 531, 519 A.2d 479, 480-81 n. 1 (1986). Contra Burchard v. Garay, 42 Cal.3d at 535, 724 P.2d at 488-89, 229 Cal. Rptr. at 802-03; In re Marriage of Carney, 24 Cal.3d 725, 731 n. 4, 598 P.2d 36, 38 n. 4, 157 Cal. Rptr. 383, 385 n. 4 (1979); In re Custody of Andre, 761 P.2d 809, 811-12 (Mont. 1988) (recognizing a narrow exception to changed-circumstances rule where custody was clearly inadequate since its inception); In re Marriage of Welby, 89 Or. App. 412, 749 P.2d 602 (1988). Our case law clearly reflects a flexibility in applying the changed-circumstances rule. The cases have not so strictly and rigidly applied the rule as to forever lock a child into the custody of one parent ... [and/or subject a child] to spending the rest of his or her minority in an inferior environment.... Kramer, 738 P.2d at 629. Hogge itself, as well as cases decided subsequently, applied a less than strict changed-circumstances rule. See Hirsch; Kramer; Hogge. In Hogge, this Court held that a noncustodial, natural mother's having regained her emotional health constituted changed circumstances. The Court also held that changing the custody from the natural father to the natural mother was in the best interests of the child, not because the father had proved inadequate as a parent, but because the environment offered by the natural father and his seventeen-year-old fiancee was not as conducive to the normal development of a child as the environment offered by the natural mother. [4] With respect to the child's best interests, the Court stated that it is appropriate for the trial court to consider the quality of the child's present custody arrangement, the length of time the child has spent in the present arrangement, and the insecurity and emotional upheaval the child may suffer as a result of any modification in custody. Hogge, 649 P.2d at 55. The Court declared that stability and the continuation of the present environment is only one of numerous factors properly considered by the trial court in its decision to grant or deny a modification in custody for the best interests of the child. Id. In sum, we hold that in change of custody cases involving a nonlitigated custody decree, a trial court, in applying the changed-circumstances test, should receive evidence on changed circumstances and that evidence may include evidence that pertains to the best interests of the child. In ruling, the trial court should give stability and continuity the weight that is appropriate in light of the duration of the existing custodial relationship and the general welfare of the child. The findings of fact should reflect that the court considered stability as a factor in the custody decision and the weight the court accorded it. In this case, custody was initially determined by a stipulation that was incorporated into the divorce decree, thereby precluding a judicial determination of custody based on the best interests of the children. Theresa had legal custody of Stephanie for only nine months, during which time Walter had actual physical custody for protracted periods. Theresa was apparently overburdened by her economic circumstances and her responsibilities for her other children. She indicated a willingness to give up the custody of the child to the natural father, and he wanted to have custody of the child. The mother had difficulty handling four young children. On several occasions when Theresa found herself unable to cope with the children, Walter immediately stepped in and willingly took care of the children. After the divorce, the father left the ranks of the unemployed, obtained a good job, remarried, and offered the possibility of a stable home life. Repeatedly the father and his new family had come to Theresa's assistance, but he did not wish to continue looking after Stephanie on an irregular basis. In sum, we hold that a strict changed-circumstances test was not applicable and that the trial judge acted within his discretion in applying the best interests test. See Hirsch, 725 P.2d at 1321.