Opinion ID: 3155280
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Best Interest Findings

Text: [¶19] In conducting the best interest analysis, the court must consider the statutory best interest factors, 19-A M.R.S. § 1653(3) (2014), and “must consider as primary the safety and well-being of the child,” Jackson, 2014 ME 110, ¶ 21, 100 A.3d 484 (quotation marks omitted). The court is not required to make detailed findings regarding every best interest factor, even when a party moves for further findings pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 52, “so long as it is otherwise evident that the court has evaluated the evidence with the best interest factors in mind.” Nadeau v. Nadeau, 2008 ME 147, ¶ 35, 957 A.2d 108. [¶20] Here, the court found that Blais’s alcoholism “presents a danger to the children” and that Aranovitch, “generally a very good and loving parent, has demonstrated a lack of insight with respect to [Blais’s] alcoholism and the risk that he poses to the children.” The court further found that the children’s transition to Versel’s residence, “however difficult in the short term . . . would serve their 11 long-term best interest.” The foregoing findings reflect an application of the relevant best interest factors and demonstrate that the court considered the desirability of maintaining the continuity of the children’s current residence, but also considered the undesirability of the children’s continued exposure to Blais. See 19-A M.R.S. § 1653(3)(B), (D), (G). These findings are supported by the record, and are sufficient to support the court’s determination that the children’s best interests would be served by changing their primary residence from Aranovitch’s home to Versel’s. The entry is: Judgment affirmed. On the briefs: Jocelyn A. Stachowske, Esq., Shaheen & Gordon, PA, Dover, New Hampshire, for appellant Jennie E. Aranovitch Jeanette M. Durham, Esq., Fairfield & Associates, PA, Lyman, for appellee David E. Versel Biddeford District Court docket number FM-2009-429 FOR CLERK REFERENCE ONLY