Court Opinion

ID: 9685790
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 15:03:20.065143+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:10.566715
License: Public Domain

SABERS, Justice
(dissenting).
I dissent for the following reasons:

Facts:

Following the divorce, Mr. Andersen continued to live in a trailer house in Brook-ings, South Dakota until he moved to Madison, South Dakota on June 21, 1985. As a result of this move, the four older children had to leave their school in Brookings and transfer to a school in Madison. Mr. Andersen’s subsequent marriage to a woman in Madison who had custody of two children of her own resulted in a complete change of child care from Mr. Andersen’s sister, (who had lived with him and the children), to his new wife and a day-care center.
The mother, Michelle Andersen, now Mrs. Koenders, and her husband were both hired as psychiatric aids at the Human Services Center in Yankton, South Dakota on December 3, 1984. Since that time they have received merit raises in their wages based on their favorable monthly performance evaluations.
Mr. and Mrs. Koenders work the same shift at the hospital (10 p.m. — 7 a.m.) and have the same days off. They work six days on and two off, and every fourth week they have two three-day weekends back to back. Under this schedule, Mr. and Mrs. Koenders have a babysitter who stays at their home while they are working and their children are sleeping. During the day while the children are awake, either Mr. or Mrs. Koenders stays awake and spends time with them. Additionally, both sets of the children’s grandparents live near Viborg, and the maternal grandmother has volunteered to babysit whenever she is needed.
Upon moving back to Viborg, Mr. and Mrs. Koenders entered into a rent-to-own agreement with Mrs. Koenders’ mother for the eventual purchase of a two-story, three-bedroom home in Viborg. The home is well cared for and Mrs. Koenders has developed the yard with flowers and a vegetable garden.
Mrs. Koenders’ children interact very well with Mr. Koenders. He treats them like a father and has developed a very smooth and loving relationship with them. All of the children have adjusted to their marriage and Mr. Koenders spends much of his time working with them.
During visitation prior to this contested decision, Mrs. Koenders found that the children were dirty and that the dirt was crusted in their ears and around their ankles. It was also evident that they did not practice regular dental hygiene in that their teeth were dirty and Amber had extensive tooth decay. Further, their clothes were tattered and they wore shoes with holes in them. Mr. and Mrs. Koenders and her mother bought clothes and shoes for the children on several occasions.
After establishing a stable home life in Viborg, Mrs. Koenders petitioned the circuit court to modify its prior judgment by granting custody of all five children to her. The matter was heard by the trial court on July 26, 1985. On August 30, 1985, the court ordered that Mr. Andersen retain custody of the three older children and that Mrs. Koenders receive custody of the two youngest girls, Amber and Terra. The trial court also ordered the parties to arrange a liberal visitation schedule which they did in October, 1985. Mr. Andersen now appeals this order.

Claims of the Parties:

Mrs. Koenders contends that the changes which have taken place in her life and in *367her ex-husband’s life were substantial in regard to the children’s welfare. Therefore, she claims that a reconsideration of the children’s custody was justified inasmuch as ample testimony was presented to judicially determine that the welfare and best interests of the two young girls would be best served by placing them in their mother’s custody. Mrs. Koenders also contends that the trial court’s original finding was not that she was unfit, nor that she was an improper parent, but only that the best interests of the children would be served by placing them with Mr. Andersen whose family life was more stable at the time of the divorce action.

Scope of Review:

SDCL 15-6-52(a) provides that “findings of fact shall not be set aside unless clearly erroneous, and due regard shall be given to the opportunity of the trial court to judge the credibility of the witnesses.” In Weygand v. Weygand, 68 S.D. 1, 3, 297 N.W. 689, 690 (1941), we wrote, “[t]he trial court has a wide range of discretion in awarding the custody of children in a decree of divorce and this discretion will not be disturbed except where there has clearly been an abuse thereof.” See also: Jasper v. Jasper, 351 N.W.2d 114, 118 (S.D.1984). “ ‘[T]he credibility of the witnesses and weight to be accorded their testimony is for the trial court and we accept that version of the evidence including any reasonable inferences therefrom which are favorable to the trial court’s determination.’ ” Schutterle v. Schutterle, 260 N.W.2d 341, 347 (S.D.1977), quoting Larson v. Syverson, 84 S.D. 31, 33, 166 N.W.2d 424, 425 (1969).
1. SUBSTANTIAL AND MATERIAL CHANGES HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN THE LIVES OF THE PARTIES SINCE THE DECREE OF DIVORCE IN REGARD TO THE WELFARE OF THE CHILDREN
Although Mr. Andersen had kept the same home and residence for a period of approximately two years after the divorce, at the time of the modification hearing, he was planning to marry a woman who had custody of two children of her own and intended to move to a different town. Mr. Andersen would like to brush these changes aside as inconsequential, but the intent of the law requires that they be considered in light of the best interests and welfare of the children whom the laws were designed to protect. See: Flint v. Flint, 334 N.W.2d 680, 681 (S.D.1983); Haak v. Haak, 323 N.W.2d 128, 130 (S.D.1982). In the eyes of a child, especially a four-year old and a six-year old, acquiring a new step-mother with a step-sister and a step-brother, moving to a different town, and leaving friends and playmates behind are all substantial and material events that affect their welfare.
Since her divorce, Mrs. Koenders has remarried, settled into a new home, and has performed in an outstanding manner in a responsible, professional job. Mrs. Koen-ders has cured all the deficiencies which caused the trial court to find that she was not ready to have custody of her children at the time of the divorce.
2. THE WELFARE AND BEST INTERESTS OF THE TWO PRESCHOOL GIRLS WOULD BEST BE SERVED BY PLACING THEM IN THE CUSTODY OF THEIR MOTHER WITH LIBERAL VISITATION RIGHTS
In any child custody determination, the court must act with the best interests of the child in mind. SDCL 30-27-19. In doing what it considers best for each child, a court may divide the custody of several children between the parents for compelling reasons. See: Grace v. Grace, 221 Neb. 695, 380 N.W.2d 280, 285-286 (Neb.1986); In Re Marriage of Gonzales, 373 N.W.2d 152, 155 (Iowa 1985); Braeman v. Braeman, 192 Neb. 510, 222 N.W.2d 811, 814 (Neb.1974). In the present case, sufficient circumstances existed which lead the trial court to believe that the best interests of the children would be served by placing Amber and Terra with their mother.
Even though the South Dakota Legislature did away with the “tender years doc*368trine” of SDCL 30-27-19 in 1979, it did not change the basic sociological structure of the American family. Although the trend is away from strict mother-father roles, there remains a widely held belief that young children should be with their mother. See generally: Annot., 70 A.L.R.3d 262 (1976). There are still strong social reasons for giving custody to the mother when it is shown that she is a fit and capable person who is able to care for the children. Here, the evidence shows a substantial change of circumstances since the time of the divorce. The record indicates that Mrs. Koenders now has a settled home life, steady professional employment, and has made adequate arrangements for the children’s care while she is working. She is a fit, capable, and loving mother, and the trial court so found.
Testimony was presented to the trial court which suggested that the children were being neglected to a certain extent while in their father’s custody. While none of these conditions are serious examples of abuse or neglect, they may serve as indicators of other more serious conditions. If these conditions existed when the five children lived with their father and had a full-time live-in babysitter, (his sister), they may be worse after his remarriage and the addition of two more children to the family. It is logical for the trial court, after seeing the demeanor of the witnesses and considering all the circumstances of this case, to conclude that it would be in Amber and Terra’s best interests to be placed in their mother’s custody where they would be assured of receiving all of the love and attention that was rightfully theirs.
Of course, such a separation would deprive them of some sibling association with their older brothers and sister. But this loss was at least partially compensated for by the modified stipulation and order for visitation. The stipulation was based on the prior agreement of November 1984, which was approved by the court subsequent to this contested decision.1
Although these reasons are not, by themselves, overwhelming, they are, when taken together, compelling; and the trial court so found. The court had a sufficient eviden-tiary basis from which to conclude that the best interests of these two young girls would be served by placing them with their mother, and that any loss of sibling association could be minimized by an effective and liberal visitation schedule. The record shows that Mrs. Koenders sustained her burden of proving both a substantial change of circumstances, and that the children’s welfare and best interests required the change of custody. Flint, 334 N.W.2d at 681.
The welfare of the children is the paramount consideration that controls their disposition whenever the question of custody arises. Larson v. Larson, 70 S.D. 178, 179, 16 N.W.2d 307 (1944). “In resolving this delicate issue, the trial court has been aided by the impressions [it] has been able to form of each of the individuals concerned. Sound reason suggests that we should not interfere in the absence of a clear and abiding conviction that the broad discretion vested in thaf court has been abused.” Id. Here, the trial judge was in a much better position than is this court, who sees only the written record, to choose the environment most advantageous to the children’s welfare. SDCL 15-6-52(a). Accordingly, there was no abuse of judicial discretion in this case and the trial court decision should be affirmed, not reversed by this court.
I am authorized to state that WUEST, C.J., joins in this dissent.

. Under this order, the children are together at either their mother's or father’s house on Easter, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Further, the children are all together at their father’s house on the second weekend of every school year month and they are together at their mother’s house on the fourth weekend of every school year month. In addition, Terra may spend one week each month in her father’s home until she begins kindergarten. During the summer months the children are together two weeks of each month at their father’s house and two weeks of each month at their mother’s home. Thus, out of 365 days in 1986, the children will spend 154 days together as a sibling unit.