Opinion ID: 2096060
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Best Interests or Unreasonable Order?

Text: In an initial custody determination there is no presumption favoring either parent. Ind. Code Ann. § 31-1-11.5-21(a) (West Supp. 1992). The court assumes that the parties are equally entitled to custody, but makes a decision based on which parent would better rear the child. Walker v. Chatfield (1990), Ind. App., 553 N.E.2d 490, 492. Custody is determined according to the best interests of the child. Ind. Code Ann. § 31-1-11.5-21. A more stringent standard governs requests for a change in custody. In subsequent hearings to modify custody the burden is on the petitioner to demonstrate that the existing custody order is unreasonable. This is because permanence and stability are considered best for the welfare and happiness of the child. Adams v. Purtlebaugh (1951), 230 Ind. 269, 102 N.E.2d 499. A trial court may modify a custody arrangement only upon a showing of changed circumstances so substantial and continuing as to make the existing custody order unreasonable. Ind. Code Ann. § 31-1-11.5-22(d) (West Supp. 1991). [1] This is a codification of our case law, which requires a change in circumstances so decisive in nature as to make a change in custody necessary for the welfare of the child. Poret v. Martin (1982), Ind., 434 N.E.2d 885. These standards were developed in the context of the traditional custody arrangement in which one parent is awarded legal custody and the other receives visitation rights. Since these standards were adopted, a new custodial arrangement has joined the list of available options: joint legal custody. Ind. Code Ann. § 31-1-11.5-21(f). In a joint custody arrangement the parents share the authority and responsibility for the major decisions concerning the child's upbringing, including the child's education, health care, and religious training. Id. An award of joint legal custody does not necessarily involve an equal division of physical custody. Id. The issue presented today is what standard of proof should apply when there is a request to change the child's primary residence under a joint legal custody arrangement. We conclude that the more stringent modification of custody standard should apply. The same concerns about stability and continuity present in sole custody modifications are present in the joint custody situation. One of the most significant elements of stability in a child's life is the child's primary caretaker  the person who cooks his meals, puts him to bed, and cares for him on a daily basis. It is certainly likely in joint custody arrangements that both parents are more involved in rearing a child. Still, when a child lives primarily with one parent under joint custody, a modification which sends a child to live with the other parent may have the same effect, as far as the child is concerned, as a traditional change in custody. Therefore, we hold that where there is joint legal custody with one parent providing the child's primary residence, a court may modify that residence only upon a showing of changed circumstances so substantial and continuing as to make the original residential arrangement unreasonable. [2]