The recent case of W.C.F. v. M.G., 115 A.3d 323 (Pa. Super. 2015), addresses numerous issues often faced by family law practitioners. The relevant factors of the case are as follows: W.C.F. (the father) and M.G. (the mother) were previously married and had one child. The parents of the mother (who is a native of Malaysia) resided with the parties in the parties' apartment since prior to the parties' child being born. Once the child was born, according to the opinion, the maternal grandmother had been the primary caretaker of the child. As reflected in the opinion: "As a result of father's belief that mother's family, in particular maternal grandmother, was blocking his attempts to bond with child, the parties agreed that maternal grandparents would move out of the parties' apartment and obtain their own residence." When the maternal grandparents moved out of the apartment, the mother took the child and vacated with her parents.
The date after the mother took the child from the apartment to live with her parents, the father filed a complaint for shared legal and physical custody of the child. The mother also filed a pleading with the court seeking for a divorce and confirmation of legal and primary physical custody of the child.
According to the opinion, soon thereafter, the trial court entered an interim order preserving the "status quo." As reflected in the opinion, the "status quo" was created by the mother when she took the child out of the marital residence and moved in with her parents. The creation of a status quo by self-help occurs often in child custody cases. This self-imposed status quo can have a major impact in custody cases, especially considering the backlogs that occur in many courts, which causes a long delay between the date that a custody complaint is filed and the resulting trial.
The court analyzed the 16 factors under the Custody Act as required. In the court's analysis, the factors weighed in favor of the father having primary custody of the child. Contained in the analysis and woven throughout the opinion is the fact that the mother repeatedly alleged the child was injured and abused while in the father's custody. However, the custody evaluator hired by the parties as well as the doctors and other professionals involved in the case found that the evidence did not support the mother's allegations. Additionally, repeatedly reflected in the opinion was the fact that the maternal grandmother may be interfering with the...
