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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-1603JOHN M. MURRAY : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS Plaintiff : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA V. :NO. ()5 _(403 c.,):l KAREN L. MURRAY : CIVIL ACTION - LAW Defendant :CUSTODY COMPLAINT AND NOW, comes Plaintiff, John M. Murray, by and through his attorney, James W. Abraham, Esquire, Abraham Law Offices, Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, and files the following: 1. Plaintiff, John M. Murray (hereinafter "Father") is an adult individual who resides at 103 East Strawberry Alley, Shiremanstown, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. 2. Defendant, Karen L. Murray (hereinafter "Mother") is an adult individual who resides at 45 Sycamore Drive, Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. 3. Father and Mother are the natural parents of the following children: Lucas John Murray and Lindsay Nicole Murray, both born on December 26, 1999 (age 9). 4. The children have resided with the following persons at the following locations for the past five (5) years: A. From March, 20W through August, 2005 with Mother and Father in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. B. From August, 2005 to the present with Mother in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania approximately fifty-five (55%) percent of the time and with Father in Shiremanstown, Pennsylvania approximately forty-five (45%) in Shiremanstown, Pennsylvania. 5. Father has not participated as a party or witness, or in any other capacity, in any other litigation regarding the custody of the children in this or any other court. 6. Father does not know of any person not a party to the proceedings who has physical custody of the children or claims to have custodial or visitation rights with respect to the children. 7. Father and Mother's date of physical and final separation in their divorce action was in August, 2005 and since that time and/or for the last three (3) years, the "status quo" physical custody schedule has essentially been slightly less than shared, "50-50" custody, pursuant to the parties' alternating weekend schedule, with Father's weekend being from Friday evening through Sunday evening; and with Father having custody of the children every week for two (2) days and two (2) overnights each week. 8. The best interests and permanent welfare of the children will be served by granting Father and Mother shared legal custody as to all major decisions regarding the children's general health, education and welfare. 9. The best interests and permanent welfare of the children will be served by granting the parties shared physical custody, on a "50-50" basis, which is essentially the "status quo" physical custody schedule of the parties for over the past three (3) years, in that: A. Since the parties' separation in August, 2005 and/or for the last three (3) years, the parties' "status quo" shared physical custody schedule, as stated in paragraph 7 above, has greatly benefited the children in their developmental years by having equal time with both Mother and Father. B. The children have greatly prospered under the aforesaid "status quo" shared physical custody schedule as the children have, and continue to have, outstanding grades in school. C. The aforesaid "status quo" shared physical custody schedule is a successful schedule for the children and works to their benefit as Father's residence and Mother's residence is within close proximity to each other, approximately less than fifteen (15) minutes driving time. D. Father has provided and continues to provide a stable and secure, family environment for the children. E. Father is the primary caretaker of the children during his custodial time period as much as Mother is during her custodial time periods. F. Since the parties separation, Father has been and continues to be directly involved in the children's education, including but not limited to, attending parent-teacher conferences and school events, and is directly involved in their sports and extra- curricular activities. G. Father's direct involvement with the children's schooling pursuant to his equal time with the children under the "status quo" shared physical custody schedule over the last three (3) years has greatly contributed and/or equally contributed to the children's outstanding grades in school. H. Mother has lacked stability as to Mother's home environment as Mother has introduced the children to four (4) different boyfriends over the last three (3) years and the children have gone through several emotionally distressful separations from boyfriends and/or the boyfriend's children, i.e., the children get to know the boyfriends and/or their children and then the children are abruptly separated from them when Mother's relationship terminates, which instability has been detrimental to the children. I. Mother has recently threatened to unilaterally terminate Father's two (2) weekday overnight visitations each week during the school year, which schedule has been in place for over three (3) years, forcing Father to proceed to court to secure his shared physical custody time and to preserve the "status quo" shared physical custody schedule. I The children are now several years older than when the aforesaid "status quo" shared physical custody schedule was implemented by the parties and Father submits that they will benefit even more by spending more time with Father, by extending Father's current weekend custody time from Friday evening through Monday morning, as Father is available to take the children to school Monday mornings during the school year. 10. Since the parties' separation, the parties have each had two (2) non-consecutive weeks of summer vacation with the children which superceded the regular custody schedule and in the summer of 2009, Plaintiff has a family trip to Hawaii planned for July 9 through July 17, 2009 and it is in the children's best interest to modify the parties' summer custody schedule to allow the children to go to Hawaii with Father and the children's grandparents and Father's extended family. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, John M. Murray, respectfully requests Your Honorable Court to grant the parties shared legal custody and shared physical custody, with Father having alternating weekends from Friday evening through Monday morning and two (2) weekday overnights during each week; with two (2) non-consecutive weeks of custody in the summer for each party with the modification for Father's summer vacation in 2009 as stated herein; and shared major holidays. Respectfully submitted: James W. Abraham, Esquire Abraham Law Offices 45 East Main Street Hummelstown, PA 17036 (717) 566-9380 Attorney for Plaintiff, John M. Murray DATE: 3/13/09 VERIFICATION L--lJoan W. , the undersigned, hereby verify and confirm that the foregoing document and the statements made therein are true and. correct to the best of my kmowledge, information and belief. I further understand that any false statements made herein are subject to the penalties of Title 18 Pa.C.S.A. Section 4904 relating to unworn falsification to authorities. DATE: -3 9 C CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, James W. Abraham, Esquire, the undersigned, hereby certify that I have served a true and correct copy of the foregoing document by certified mail upon the following person(s) at the following address(es) on the date stated below: Karen L. Murray 45 Sycamore Drive Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 DATE: 3/13/09 James W. Abraham, Esquire ? ? ?' ?? ?r, -?-? ? ? .: ?m -? ? , , :'? '?`? CJ ?3" is? .? ?J' (?, ? f,.fl .? ? pp C' -?C JOHN M. MURRAY IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF PLAINTIFF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA V. KAREN L. MURRAY DEFENDANT 2009-1603 CIVIL ACTION LAW IN CUSTODY ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, Wednesday, March 18, 2009 , upon consideration of the attached Complaint, it is hereby directed that parties and their respective counsel appear before Dawn S. Sunday, Esq. , the conciliator, at 39 West Main Street, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 12:00 PM for a Pre-Hearing Custody Conference. At such conference, an effort will be made to resolve the issues in dispute; or if this cannot be accomplished, to define and narrow the issues to be heard by the court, and to enter into a temporary order. Failure to appear at the conference may provide grounds for entry of a temporary or permanent order. The court hereby directs the parties to furnish any and all existing Protection from Abuse orders, Special Relief orders, and Custody orders to the conciliator 48 hours prior to scheduled' hearing. FOR THE COURT, By: /s/ Dawn S. Sunday, Esq. 1&2 Custody Conciliator -P, The Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County is required by law to comply with the Americans with Disabilites Act of 1990. For information about accessible facilities and reasonable accommodations available to disabled individuals having business before the court, please contact our office. All arrangements must be made at least 72 hours prior to any hearing or business before the court. You must attend the scheduled conference or hearing. YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR ATTORNEY AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN ATTORNEY OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP. Cumberland County Bar Association 32 South Bedford Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013 Telephone (717) 249-3166 i y ?,i { yw TO 61.C WJ 61 8VW 60OZ d.a .:r mu APR ' 7 2009L4 JOHN M. MURRAY Plaintiff VS. KAREN L. MURRAY Defendant IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 2009-1603 CIVIL ACTION LAW IN CUSTODY ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this z i `' day of /4.1 / , 2009, upon consideration of the attached Custody Conciliation Report, it is ordered and directed as follows: 1. The Father, John M. Murray, and the Mother, Karen L. Murray, shall have shared legal custody of Lucas J. Murray and Lindsay N. Murray, both born December 26, 1999. Major decisions concerning the Children including, but not necessarily limited to, their health, welfare, education, religious training and upbringing shall be made jointly by the parties after discussion and consultation with a view toward obtaining and following a harmonious policy in each Child's best interest. Neither party shall impair the other party's rights to shared legal custody of the Children. Neither party shall attempt to alienate the affections of the Children from the other party. Each party shall notify the other of any activity or circumstance concerning the Children that could reasonably be expected to be of concern to the other. Day to day decisions shall be the responsibility of the parent then having physical custody. With regard to any emergency decisions which must be made, the parent having physical custody of the Child at the time of the emergency shall be permitted to make any immediate decisions necessitated thereby. However, that parent shall inform the other of the emergency and consult with him or her as soon as possible. In accordance with 23 Pa.C.S.A. §5309, each party shall be entitled to complete and full information from any doctor, dentist, teacher, professional or authority and to have copies of any reports or information given to either party as a parent as authorized by statute. 2. The parties shall share having physical custody of the Children on a repeating bi-weekly schedule as follows: A. WEEK I: During Week I, the Father shall have custody of the Children from Friday after school (or 4:00 p.m. if there is no school) through Monday before school, the Mother shall have custody from Monday after work through Wednesday before school, the Father shall have custody from Wednesday after work through Thursday before school and the Mother shall have custody from Thursday after work through the following Monday before school. B. WEEK II: During Week II, the Father shall have custody of the Children from Monday after work through Tuesday before school, the Mother shall have custody from Tuesday after work through Wednesday before school, the Father shall have custody from Wednesday after work through Thursday before school and the Mother shall have custody from Thursday after work through Friday before school. 'P no, C. The parent who has custody of the Children during the preceding overnight shall be responsible to make arrangements for the Children's care during the following day in the event there is no school, including for reasons relating to illness. 3. The parties shall share or alternate having custody of the Children over holidays as follows: A. Christmas/Children's Birthday: In odd-numbered years, the Father shall have custody of the Children on Christmas Eve from 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and the Mother shall have custody from Christmas Eve at 9:00 p.m. through Christmas Day at 3:00 p.m. In even-numbered years, the Mother shall have custody of the Children from Christmas Eve at 4:00 p.m. through Christmas Day at 3:00 p.m. In every year, the Father shall have custody of the Children from Christmas Day at 3:00 p.m. through December 26 at 3:00 p.m. and the Mother shall have custody from December 26 at 3:00 p.m. through December 27 at 9:00 a.m. B. New Year's: In odd-numbered years, the Mother shall have custody of the Children from New Year's Eve at 6:00 p.m. through New Year's Day at 3:00 p.m. and in even-numbered years, the Father shall have custody of the Children from New Year's Eve at 6:00 p.m. through New Year's Day at 3:00 p.m. For purposes of this provision, the entire New Year's holiday shall be deemed to fall in the same year as New Year's Eve. C. Easter: In every year, the Mother shall have custody of the Children for Easter from Saturday at 6:00 p.m. through Easter Sunday at 3:00 p.m. and the Father shall have custody from Easter Sunday at 3:00 p.m. through the following Monday at 4:00 p.m. D. Thanksgiving: In every year, the Mother shall have custody of the Children from Wednesday evening, at a time to be arranged by agreement between the parties, through Thanksgiving Day at 3:00 p.m. and the Father shall have custody from Thanksgiving Day at 3:00 p.m. through the following Friday at 8:30 a.m. or before work if the Father is working. In the event the Father's regular weekend period of custody falls immediately following Thanksgiving, the Father shall retain custody of the Children through the weekend. E. Mother's DU/Father's Day: In every year, the Mother shall have custody of the Children for Mother's Day and the Father shall have custody for Father's Day with the specific times to be arranged by agreement between the parties. F. The holiday custody schedule shall supersede and take precedence over the regular custody schedule. G. In the event either party's regular period of custody falls immediately following a holiday period of custody, the holiday and regular periods of custody shall run continuously without interruption. 4. Each parent shall be entitled to have custody of the Children for up to two (2) nonconsecutive weeks for vacation each summer upon providing at least thirty (30) days advance notice to the other parent. The parent providing notice first shall be entitled to preference on his or her selection of vacation dates. In 2009, the parties agree that the Father shall have custody of the Children for a trip to Hawaii from July 9 through July 17. 5. In the event either party intends to remove the Children from his or her residence for an overnight period or longer for vacation or otherwise, that parent shall provide the other parent with advance notice of the address and telephone number where the Children can be contacted. 6. The parties agree to cooperate in working together on parenting issues which they have identified in an effort to promote the Children's emotional well-being in a consistent and collaborative manner. The parties agree to further consider the possibility of obtaining co-parenting counseling to assist them in their efforts to establish an effective ongoing parenting relationship. 7. Within three (3) months of the date of this Order, counsel for either party may contact the conciliator to schedule an additional custody conciliation conference, if necessary to review the parenting issues or the custody schedule. 8. Neither party shall do or say anything which may estrange the Children from the other parent, injure the opinion of the Children as to the other parent, or hamper the free and natural development of the Children's love and respect for the other parent. Both parties shall ensure that third parties having contact with the Children comply with this provision. 9. This Order is entered pursuant to an agreement of the parties at a custody conciliation conference. The parties may modify the provisions of this Order by mutual consent. In the absence of mutual consent, the provisions of this Order shall control. BY THE COURT, cc: ames W. Abraham, Esquire -Counsel for Father /Thomas D. Gould, Esquire - Counsel for Mother -:Oat FS .tyit, ? /U l JOHN M. MURRAY IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF Plaintiff CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA vs. 2009-1603 CIVIL ACTION LAW KAREN L. MURRAY Defendant IN CUSTODY CUSTODY CONCILIATION SUMMARY REPORT IN ACCORDANCE WITH CUMBERLAND COUNTY RULE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE 1915.3-8, the undersigned Custody Conciliator submits the following report: 1. The pertinent information concerning the Children who are the subjects of this litigation is as follows: NAME DATE OF BIRTH CURRENTLY IN CUSTODY OF Lindsay N. Murray December 26, 1999 Mother/Father Lucas J. Murray December 26, 1999 Mother/Father 2. A custody conciliation conference was held on April 14, 2009, with the following individuals in attendance: the Father, John M. Murray, with his counsel, James W. Abraham, Esquire, and the Mother, Karen L. Murray, with her counsel, Thomas D. Gould, Esquire. 3. The parties agreed to entry of an Order in the form as attached. Date Dawn S. Sunday, Esquire Custody Conciliator