Opinion ID: 1494070
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Child's Home Environment and Mother's Marriage

Text: Mr. Kendrick next asserts that a material change in circumstances has occurred because the marital relationship between Mrs. Shoemake and her husband has become increasingly unstable, thereby adversely affecting Jordan's well-being. As evidence of the Shoemakes' marital instability, Mr. Kendrick relies upon the affidavit of Mr. Shoemake's ex-wife, Ms. Tuesday Bradley, in which she alleged that the Shoemake household was in a state of verbal turmoil, with screaming at the children in the home and the use of profanity directed at the children. The affidavit further alleged that Mrs. Shoemake has been absent from the home overnight [and] has been frequenting bars and neglecting her children. Finally, Ms. Bradley alleged that Mrs. Shoemake's conduct has caused great distress to the children in that home. If the assertions in Ms. Bradley's affidavit are true, then a material change in circumstances may exist. The collapse of the custodial parent's home environment is a material change in circumstances that may affect the well-being of any child within that environment. As such, a change in custody to a more stable environment could be in the child's best interests. Mr. and Mrs. Shoemake, however, denied the assertions contained in Ms. Bradley's affidavit. [11] Furthermore, the evidence in this case does not preponderate in favor of a finding that the state of the Shoemake marriage is at the threshold of dissolution. During her testimony Ms. Bradley provided no support for many of these assertions. For instance, Ms. Bradley stated that she knew of arguments between Mr. and Mrs. Shoemake. She testified, however, that she could not recall any one disagreement specifically. When asked about the verbal fights in front of the children, Ms. Bradley again testified that she could recall no specific incident. Nor could Ms. Bradley recall the conduct of Mrs. Shoemake that caused great distress to the children in that home. Finally, contrary to the assertions in her affidavit, Ms. Bradley testified that she possessed no first-hand knowledge that Mrs. Shoemake had been absent from her home, had visited any bars, or had otherwise neglected her children. We therefore afford very little weight to Ms. Bradley's accusations. Ms. Bradley did insist that Mr. Shoemake used profane language in telephone conversations with her and that, during one conversation, he directed this language toward one of his children. A verbally abusive pattern of similar conduct directed at a child may affect the child's well-being. Ms. Bradley asserted that Mr. Shoemake often spoke to her this way because they were unable to communicate properly. Ms. Bradley, however, could not cite any other example of any similar conversations or conduct occurring in the presence of any child. Several witnesses, however, testified that they have never seen inappropriate behavior from the Shoemakes toward their children. Further, the record shows that Jordan and Mr. Shoemake developed a close relationship, and two witnesses testified that they enjoy a father and son relationship. Mr. Shoemake testified that Mr. Kendrick and his mother have personally thanked Mr. Shoemake on separate occasions for being such a good parent to Jordan. Moreover, there is evidence that Mrs. Shoemake has been a caring mother for Jordan. Mrs. Shoemake's sister testified that Jordan is quite dependent upon [Mrs. Shoemake] for emotional support and reassurance, and at least three witnesses observed that Mrs. Shoemake and Jordan enjoy a very close bond. We find little support in the record for the assertion that the Shoemake household is in such a constant state of turmoil that Jordan's well-being has been adversely affected. Accordingly, we cannot conclude that the preponderance of the evidence shows that a material change in circumstances has occurred in the Shoemake household.