Court Opinion

ID: 9670459
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 03:20:59.315895+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:04.668587
License: Public Domain

Spencer, J.,
dissenting in part and concurring in part.
I concur in the finding that the trial court erred in awarding custody of the children to the maternal grandparents. There is no evidence in the record to sustain this position.
I dissent from the remanding of the cause for further proceedings. On the record before us the mother has abandoned the children. On the other hand, the natural father of the children is requesting their custody. The *278record indicates that he is a proper and suitable person to have such custody and could provide an adequate and wholesome home for said children.
Our law is well established that while the best interests of the children involved are paramount in the awarding of their custody, the natural parents of said children are presumptively entitled to the custody and the same cannot be given to a third party without a specific finding by the court based on clear, convincing, and competent evidence that the parents are unfit to have such custody.
In my judgment, rather than putting the father to the expense of another trial and a possible appeal, we should remand the cause with directions to grant him the custody of said children.
White, C. J., and Newton, J., join in this dissent and concurrence.