Carter v. Carter

201 N.E.3d 230

Kalanu CARTER, Appellant-Petitioner

v.Ryan CARTER, Appellee-Respondent.

Court of Appeals Case No. 21A-DC-2395

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

Filed December 20, 2022

Attorney for Appellant: Kristina L. Lynn, Lynn Law Office, P.C., Wabash, Indiana

Attorney for Appellee: Anthony R. Spahr, Peru, Indiana

Pyle, Judge.

Statement of the Case

[1] Kalanu Carter ("Mother") appeals the child custody order entered following the dissolution of her marriage to Ryan Carter ("Father"). Mother specifically argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it: (1) granted Father's motion to re-open the evidence after the conclusion of the final hearing; (2) awarded primary physical custody of the parties’ daughter to Father; and (3) ordered Mother to pay $20 per week in child support. Concluding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it granted Father's motion to re-open the evidence after the conclusion of the final hearing or when it awarded primary physical custody of the parties’ daughter to Father, we affirm those portions of the trial court's order. However, we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion when it ordered Mother to pay $20 per week in child support. We, therefore, affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand with instructions for the trial court to enter an order that Mother is not required to pay child support because the adjustments to her child support obligation exceed the obligation.

[2] We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand with instructions.

Issues

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion when it granted Father's motion to re-open the evidence after the conclusion of the final hearing.

2. Whether the trial court abused its discretion when it awarded primary physical custody of the parties’ daughter to Father.

3. Whether the trial court abused its discretion when it ordered Mother to pay $20 per week in child support.

Facts

[3] Mother and Father were married in October 2015 and are the parents of a daughter, R.C. ("R.C."), who was born in December 2017. The family lived in Miami County, and Mother initially stayed home with R.C. while Father worked. When R.C. was six months old, Mother began working part-time. Either Maternal Grandmother ("Maternal Grandmother") or Paternal Grandmother ("Paternal Grandmother") took care of R.C. while Mother and Father worked. In August 2019, Mother began taking classes to become a registered medical assistant.

[4] In November 2019, Father learned that Mother had become involved in a relationship with Dillon Young ("Young"), who lived in Cincinnati. In January 2020, Mother filed a dissolution petition. Also in January 2020, Father filed a counter dissolution petition as well as a petition requesting a provisional order for custody, parenting time, and child support. In March 2020, Father filed a petition asking the trial court to enjoin Mother from relocating R.C. to Cincinnati.

[5] The trial court held a hearing on all motions in April 2020. At the time of the hearing, Mother, Father, and R.C. were still living together in the marital residence. Mother planned to move out of the residence as soon as she found another place to live.

[6] At the hearing, Mother asked the trial court to award her provisional custody of R.C. Mother also asked the trial court to allow her to relocate R.C. to Cincinnati because Mother had recently completed the medical assistant program and had accepted a job there. Mother acknowledged that she had not pursued jobs in Miami County and the surrounding area. Mother further explained that Young lived in Cincinnati and that she and R.C. had frequently made the nearly six-hour round-trip drive to Cincinnati to spend weekends with him. Specifically, Mother acknowledged that from December 2019 through March 2020, she had made ten separate weekend visits to Cincinnati. Mother further acknowledged that she had no family in Cincinnati and explained that when she started her new job, Young's mother would provide child care for R.C.

[7] Also at the hearing, Father's counsel questioned Mother about a list of Youngs's "cons" that she had compiled at the recommendation of her therapist. (Supp. Ex. Vol. 3 at 7). Mother's list included the following "cons[:]" (1) not Christian; (2) smokes weed a little too much; (3) plays video games; (4) sleeps too much; (5) cheated on ex with Mother; (6) not used to kids/[R.C.]; (7) super stressful job; and (8) not very close to mom. (Supp. Ex. Vol. 3 at 7).

[8] Following the hearing, the trial court told Mother that it was going to award her provisional custody of R.C. but that it was not going to allow her to relocate R.C. to Cincinnati. In addition, the trial court awarded Father parenting time consistent with the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines ("the IPTG") and ordered him to pay Mother $145 per week in child support as soon as Mother moved out of the marital residence.

[9] Immediately following the hearing, Mother told Father, "I'll marry [Young], have a kid with him, file a petition to relocate, and move out of the state so you can't ever see [R.C.]" (Ex. Vol. 4 at 19). The day after the hearing, Mother took R.C. on a six-day visit to Young's home in Cincinnati.

[10] Two weeks after the hearing, the trial court issued a detailed written order granting Father's petition to enjoin Mother from relocating R.C. to Cincinnati. The trial court noted that R.C.’s family support was in Miami County and that although Mother had obtained a job in Cincinnati, there were similar job opportunities available in Miami County. The trial court further clarified that Mother was prohibited from removing R.C. from the Miami County area. Mother's counsel explained to Mother that, pursuant to the trial court's order, Mother could no longer take R.C. on trips to Cincinnati.

[11] At the end of April 2020, Mother and R.C. moved into her estranged father's ("Maternal Grandfather") home, and Mother got a job at a nearby hospital. Either Maternal Grandmother or Paternal Grandmother provided child care for R.C. while both parents worked. In May 2020, Mother and Father became involved in an argument at Paternal Grandmother's home. Mother "forcefully rip[ped] [R.C.] out of [Father's] hands and scream[ed] at [him] as [he] was walking away[.]" (Tr. Vol. 2 at 135-36). Mother then screamed at Father, "[y]ou can count on getting [R.C.] at 2:00 p.m. instead of 12:00 p.m. tomorrow ... because I only have to give you ten hours with her." (Tr. Vol. 2 at 136). R.C. was crying, and Father walked away in an attempt to defuse the situation.

[12] During the summer of 2020, Mother maintained her relationship with Young and continued to visit him in Cincinnati during Father's weekends with R.C. Although Mother often returned late to Miami County, she wanted to pick up R.C. at Father's home when she returned. For example, in June 2021, Mother telephoned Father at 8:30 p.m. and told him that she was going to be late picking up R.C. Father responded that he assumed that Mother was just leaving Cincinnati and that if that were the case, he and R.C. would be asleep when Mother arrived in Miami County. Father asked Mother to leave R.C. at his home for the night. Mother responded, "I am picking her up. You do not get to tell me I can't. I will call the police. It's past your allotted time, so I'll be picking her up." (Tr. Vol. 2 at 131). Mother arrived at Father's house at 11:00 p.m. and woke up R.C. to take her to Maternal Grandfather's home.

[13] In July 2020, Mother told Father that she was taking R.C. to Tennessee and that Maternal Grandmother and Mother's sister would also be going on the trip. Father later learned that Mother and R.C. had met Young in Tennessee.

[14] In September 2020, Maternal Grandfather told Mother that she and R.C. had to leave his home. Because Mother and R.C. had nowhere else to go, Father invited them to stay at his home. Father's only request was that Mother not be involved in a relationship while she was staying at his home. Mother told Father that she and Young were no longer seeing each other and that she would not become involved in any other relationships.

[15] The following month, October 2020, the trial court held a dissolution hearing. Mother and Father had already agreed to share joint legal custody of R.C. They had also reached an agreement on dividing their property. The issues before the court were R.C.’s physical custody, parenting time, and child support. At the hearing, the trial court heard the facts as set forth above.

[16] In addition, Mother testified that she and R.C. were planning to move in with Mother's aunt. Mother asked the trial court to award her primary physical custody of R.C. Father also asked the trial court to award him primary physical custody of R.C. Paternal Grandfather and Father's friend, who also knew Mother, both testified that Father would provide a more stable home for R.C. Paternal Grandfather also pointed out that Mother had used R.C. as a pawn against Father in the past. At the end of the hearing, the trial court asked both parents to submit proposed dissolution decrees by December 8, 2020.

[17] On December 7, 2020, Father filed a petition asking the trial court to re-open the evidence. In this petition, Father alleged that in November 2020, following the dissolution hearing, Mother had re-initiated her relationship with Young and had "threatened [Father] that she would enroll in the military so that she could move her and [R.C.] away from [Father] and the parties’ families, in an effort to circumvent the Court's existing order and to prevent [Father] from seeing [R.C.]" (App. Vol. 2 at 66). Father further alleged that when he had asked Mother to vacate the marital residence, Mother had "refused and threatened to levy false, sexual assault allegations against [Father] if he tried to make her leave the marital residence." (App. Vol. 2 at 66). Father also alleged that after Mother had packed her possessions, she had "refused to disclose where she and [R.C.]...