Court Opinion

ID: 9780853
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 03:02:34.072415+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:09:17.969352
License: Public Domain

SHORT, J.
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent. In my view, the best interests of L.R. would be served by awarding custody to Mother. See Simmons v. Simmons, 392 S.C. 412, 414-15, 709 S.E.2d 666, 667 (2011) (finding on appeal from the family court, the appellate court reviews factual and legal issues de novo).
Mother raises numerous meritorious issues in her appeal. First, throughout the tumultuous time these parties were together, Mother was a stay-at-home mom and the primary caretaker of L.R.6 The guardian ad litem found L.R. to be an active, healthy, and happy child. The guardian found both parents to be fit. I find Mother’s role as primary caretaker weighs in her favor in determining custody.
The family court considered Father’s additional time to devote to L.R., and that L.R. would be in daycare if living with Mother. However, Father admitted he intended to enroll L.R. in a pre-kindergarten program. I find this is not a factor *438weighing in Father’s favor as L.R. will be in school now regardless of which parent is awarded custody.
The family court also considered that L.R. would have more opportunity for interaction with his half-siblings in the custody of Father. Furthermore, the family court found Father had demonstrated very good parenting skills in the care, education, and upbringing of his older children. The only half-sibling living full-time with Father at the time of the hearing was Father’s seventeen-year-old son. Father’s other two children, aged thirteen and eleven at the time, lived either with their mother, or with Father part-time. The majority of Father’s parenting skills at the time of the hearing were exercised as a part-time parent. At this time, all of these children have either completed high school, or are very close to completion, rendering this consideration relatively insignificant.
Finally, the family court relied on Father’s financial means and education. As noted by Mother, Father’s wealth will be equally available to support L.R. regardless of which parent is awarded custody. As to Father’s education compared to Mother’s education, the family court failed to consider that Mother was a stay-at-home mom while living with Father, and his influence in L.R.’s future education should, like his financial means, be available to L.R. regardless of whether or not Father has primary custody.
Based on the above factors, I find the parties in relative parity as to the best interests of L.R. in determining custody. Mother also raises the issue of the impact of Father’s promiscuity on L.R.7 Although certainly a concern, the primary issue underlying my view that Mother should have custody is the evidence in the record of Father’s manipulative and controlling nature.
For instance, the psychologist8 concluded the relationship between the parties was not balanced. Father required Mother submit to his control. Father informed the psychologist *439that he would prefer the child be in Mother’s care as long as Mother was not irresponsible, abusive, or neglectful. According to the psychologist, Mother did not present a significant threat of harm of negligent or abusive parenting.
There are other instances of Father’s controlling and manipulative nature in the record. For example, L.R.’s maternal grandmother (Grandmother) testified Father manipulated her into signing an affidavit that Father had drafted, in which Grandmother recommends Father receive custody, with Mother granted visitation supervised by Grandmother. At trial, Grandmother testified she signed the affidavit because Father manipulated her into believing he was going to use it to “force [Mother] to come back” to marry him, and that he would never use it to take L.R. from Mother. Another example of Father’s need to control was reported at trial by a parent educator who worked with L.R. and Mother for two years to assess L.R.’s developmental progress. The educator testified Father threatened to report her to the State Department of Education because she worked with L.R. and Mother without his participation. In another manipulative act, Father reported Mother for criminal domestic violence based on an argument during which Mother slapped Father.9 According to the Sheriffs Department Incident Report, Father wanted to file the report “for when [they] go to family court for custody of the baby.” Father constantly threatened Mother with her loss of custody if she did not follow his directives, be they reconciling with him or other matters. During one reconciliation period, Father presented Mother with an agreement that would grant him custody in exchange for agreeing to marry Mother and have another child with her. This reconciliation did not last long and ended with Father moving all of Mother and L.R.’s belongings to Grandmother’s house and posting a “no trespassing” notice at their house.
Based on my view of the preponderance of the record, I find no evidence to support the removal of L.R. from Mother, his primary caretaker.10 See Patel v. Patel, 359 S.C. 515, 527, 599 *440S.E.2d 114, 120 (2004) (“Although there is no rule of law requiring custody be awarded to the primary caretaker, there is an assumption that custody will be awarded to the primary caretaker.”). Accordingly, I would reverse.

. L.R., bora July 28, 2005, was almost three at the time of the hearing.

. Father has children with three women, and in September 2008, he married a pregnant 27-year-old woman.

. Per order of the family court, Father and Mother were referred for psychological evaluation.

. Mother reported Father goaded her into the slap, which she acknowledged was inappropriate.

. Although the family court made no specific finding as to which parent was L.R.’s primary caretaker, there is evidence that Mother was *440in actuality the primary caretaker: 1) Mother was sole caretaker for first two months of L.R.'s life; 2) for a period of time, L.R. visited Father only if Mother was also visiting Father; 3) the parties exercised the joint custody arrangement for only ten months before Mother moved back in with Father in October 2006; 4) Mother testified she kept L.R. numerous times at Father’s house during his week; and 5) the parties did not separate for the last time until approximately nine months before the final hearing.