Court Opinion

ID: 9727511
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 13:41:13.74883+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:25:39.614027
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE KNECHT, specially concurring: I agree with the result and analysis in this case but disavow the majority’s view of joint custody as extraordinary. The majority counsels trial courts to be skeptical when divorcing parents promise they can surmount the manifest difficulties of a joint-custody order. What are these manifest difficulties, and why must the parents of children be suspect in their promises? Any custody-visitation order can present problems if parents do not cooperate. Joint custody, when it is well and mutually planned, means joint responsibility, not shared physical custody. Joint custody is simply a tool or a plan to maximize the involvement of both parents in the life of a child. If the tool is used improperly or the plan imposed in an inappropriate case, problems arise. Divorcing parents are not likely to be dewy-eyed optimists about child rearing. If they believe shared responsibility will have advantages and can fashion a sensible joint-parenting agreement, then their promises should be viewed with an open mind, not skepticism. This case was not appropriate for joint custody. I have chosen to specially concur because the majority’s comment on joint custody might mislead trial courts, parents and their counsel into believing joint-custody orders are viewed with some special degree of scrutiny on review. There is no authority for any special scrutiny. The standard of review does not change simply because a trial court enters a joint-custody order.