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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-5178 Civil JEREMY T. MAHER, : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF PLAINTIFF : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : V. : : JESSICA A. PFUHL, : DEFENDANT : 06-5178 CIVIL TERM IN RE: CUSTODY OPINION AND ORDER OF COURT Bayley, J., August 15, 2007:-- Jeremy Maher, age 27, and Jessica Pfuhl, age 25, are the parents of Taylor Maher, age 5, born September 15, 2001. The mother lives in Johnstown, Cambria County. The father lives in Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County. Taylor will be entering kindergarten at the end of August. The mother filed a complaint for primary physical custody of Taylor. The father is opposed, and he seeks primary physical custody. A hearing was conducted on August 8, 2007. The parents never married. They lived together in Mechanicsburg from December, 2001, until August, 2002, when the mother and Taylor moved into the home of the maternal grandmother in Mechanicsburg. The father started seeing Taylor on Wednesday evenings and that was expanded to every other weekend. After three months, the mother moved to her own apartment in Mechanicsburg where she stayed for one and a half years. During this period, the mother had a clerical job and shared custody of Taylor with the father on a 50-50 1 basis. In November, 2005, the parents reconciled, first living together in the home of the __________ 1 There was a short period in 2003 when the mother tried an enlistment in the Army and the father took care of Taylor. 06-5178 CIVIL TERM father’s brother in Harrisburg, and then in the home of the father’s parents in New Cumberland. The mother separated in April, 2006, when she again moved with Taylor into the home of the maternal grandmother in Mechanicsburg. The maternal grandmother was just getting ready to move to her mother’s home in Johnstown. The mother did not have the financial ability to get her own place so she decided to move to Johnstown with her mother. On April 21, 2006, she and the father entered into a written agreement in which the father agreed to the mother’s move, with Taylor, to Johnstown, and the mother agreed to return to central Pennsylvania with Taylor before the start of kindergarten in August of 2007. The father agreed to help the mother “create an equal standard of living” upon her return to central Pennsylvania. The parents would continue shared legal custody of Taylor, and physical custody on an alternating weekly basis, while the mother and Taylor were residing in Johnstown. Finally, the father agreed to pay $150.00 every two weeks in child support, and the mother agreed that the support would not be altered prior to the second half of August of 2007. The mother took Taylor to Johnstown and has been living with the maternal grandmother and great-grandmother ever since. With exception to some minor problems due to poor communication between the parents, the week on week off custody arrangement worked well. On September 6, 2006, the father, having become concerned that the mother was not going to return to this area by the fall of 2007, filed a complaint for primary physical custody of Taylor. The parents entered into an agreement that resulted in a custody order of -2- 06-5178 CIVIL TERM October 31, 2006. Shared legal custody was ordered as well as shared physical custody on an alternating week basis. A Thanksgiving and Christmas schedule and arrangement for transfers in Breezewood were set. The order did not address a custodial arrangement for when Taylor starts kindergarten. On April 10, 2007, the mother filed this complaint for primary physical custody of Taylor. Taylor was born in Johnstown. She was pre-mature at one pound twelve ounces. She was in the hospital for a month and was then transferred to the Hershey Medical Center where she had heart surgery and remained hospitalized for another month and a half. The mother lived in Taylor’s room at the hospital during this time. The father was working and visited Taylor regularly. At age one and a half, Taylor was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. This condition affects her balance and motor skills, not her intellect. She has been under regular medical care and both parents agree that she is making progress. When the mother moved to Johnstown, she placed Taylor under the care of a pediatric neurologist in Greensburg whom she is to see every six months. She is also under the care of a pediatrician in Johnstown. She receives physical therapy at a facility in Johnstown. The mother grew up in Johnstown and lived there until she was sixteen. After moving into her grandmother’s home in April, 2006, she obtained a full-time job at a daycare center where she worked until November, 2006, when she became a clinical assistant at a hospital. She works five out of seven days each week, either 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Her mother or her grandmother takes care of Taylor when she is working, and, on rare occasions when all three are working, Taylor goes to a daycare facility. The mother -3- 06-5178 CIVIL TERM testified that she has been offered a clerical position at the hospital, weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If she has custody of Taylor during the school year, she will take that position, and Taylor will go to morning kindergarten and then to a learning center in the afternoon from which the mother will pick her up after work. The mother has been attending classes and taking on-line courses at a community college in Johnstown where she is working toward an associate’s degree in healthcare management. All of her remaining courses require her to attend class. She anticipates receiving a degree in May, 2008. She then plans to take courses toward a bachelor’s degree at the Johnstown campuses of the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State. The father went to the Harrisburg Area Community College. He worked in a family sales business until 2005. He was working in sales for another company at the beginning of September, 2006, when he quit because he was dissatisfied with his commissions and 2 benefits. He remained unemployed until April, 2007, when he started his own business, 3 Jumpstart Business Promotions. The business promotes sales for Domino’s Pizza, something his family’s business used to do for another pizza company. His work schedule is flexible. The father testified that he does not know how much he has earned in this business, __________ 2 The father had been providing medical insurance for Taylor until he quit his job. The mother then obtained medical coverage for Taylor through her employer. Because of the cerebral palsy, secondary medical insurance is provided by the Gateway program of the Commonwealth. 3 He testified that his efforts to find work during the seven months were hampered because of his felony forgery and robbery convictions when he was eighteen years old. -4- 06-5178 CIVIL TERM 4 speculating that maybe it has been a couple hundred dollars a week. __________ 4 In April of 2007, the father stopped paying the support under the private agreement when the mother filed a petition to modify the custody order of October 31, 2006. Even before that, many of the payments he owed to the mother were made by his parents. -5- 06-5178 CIVIL TERM The father started a relationship with Clarissa Blankenship in September, 2006. He moved full-time into her two bedroom apartment with her seven-year-old daughter at the beginning of May. She is single and has never been married. She teaches high school level students in an intermediate unit. She and the father have a baby due in September and will look for a three bedroom apartment to accommodate the larger group. If Taylor lives with the father, he will enroll her in kindergarten at St. Joseph’s Children School where she has attended a daycare program for the last year during her time with her father. St. Joseph’s Children School is a private school and will provide a full day kindergarten program for $600 per month. The father testified that he only agreed for Taylor to go to Johnstown with the mother because she promised to bring Taylor back when she started school. He is opposed to Taylor going to school in Johnstown. He testified that if the mother would move back to this area he would readily agree to a shared custody arrangement. His parents often baby-sit Taylor, are close to her, and are very supportive of the family. Taylor sees other members of the father’s family when she is in this area, including a grandfather and the father’s brother. The mother now desires to remain in Johnstown with Taylor within the supportive network of her family. Taylor has a close relationship with her maternal grandmother and great-grandmother. The great-grandmother, who still works part-time, testified that the mother and Taylor are welcome to stay in her home for as long as the mother wants. The move to Johnstown has already resulted in the mother obtaining a degree of stability and security that would not have been possible if she had stayed in Mechanicsburg. Her current situation is a -6- 06-5178 CIVIL TERM significant improvement in the quality of her life and the benefits have flowed to Taylor. Furthermore, the mother is pursuing educational opportunities available to her in Johnstown to further improve her life. The mother did not go to Johnstown on a whim but out of need. Her desire to now stay there with Taylor is not to frustrate the father’s relationship with her daughter. She acknowledges that his continuing, meaningful relationship with Taylor is important. There is no evidence that the father’s resistance to the mother having primary physical custody is inspired by an improper motive. He is concerned about their ability to continue a meaningful relationship. Neither parent raised any significant issue as to the parenting ability of the other, although the father maintains that he is more laidback and relaxed than the mother who gets angry and is more confrontational. The ultimate determination in a custody case is what is in the best interest of the child. Ferdinand v. Ferdinand, 763 A.2d 820 (Pa. Super. 2000). Based on the current situation of both parents we believe that during the school year Taylor will have more stability in the home of the mother than she will with the father. Whether the father’s situation is stabile, given his entire circumstances and the new responsibilities he has incurred over a short period of time, is not apparent. Stability is of primary importance during the school year and the deciding factor in this case. We can and will enter an order that will provide reasonable periods of 5 temporary custody in the father that will foster an ongoing relationship with his daughter. ORDER OF COURT __________ 5 The parents must improve their personal communication to make the custody order work for the benefit of Taylor. While the distance between their homes makes it difficult, we urge them to jointly arrange for and attend some co-parenting classes. -7- 06-5178 CIVIL TERM AND NOW, this day of August, 2007: -8- 06-5178 CIVIL TERM (1) All prior custody orders are vacated and replaced with this order. (2) Jeremy T. Maher and Jessica A. Pfuhl shall have shared legal custody of Taylor Maher, born September 15, 2001. (3) During each school year: (a) Taylor shall live in the home of her mother and attend school from that home. The father shall have temporary physical custody every other weekend from Friday after school until Sunday evening or Monday evening if Monday is a school holiday. (b) The schedule for Thanksgiving and Christmas shall be as follows: (i) Thanksgiving: In 2007, the mother shall have Taylor on Thanksgiving. In 2008, and in alternate years thereafter the father shall have Taylor from the day before Thanksgiving until the day before school resumes. (ii) Christmas: The mother shall always have Taylor from thth December 24 through December 26. The father shall always have th Taylor from December 27 until the day before school resumes. (4) During each summer school vacation period starting on the Sunday after the last day of school and ending on the next to last Sunday before school begins, the father shall have Taylor every two weeks with the mother having her the next week. All exchanges on this three week schedule shall be on Sundays. (5) Unless otherwise agreed by the parents, all exchanges shall be in Breezewood at -9- 06-5178 CIVIL TERM times agreed to by them. By the Court, Edgar B. Bayley, J. Barbara Sumple-Sullivan, Esquire For Jeremy T. Maher John King, Esquire For Jessica A. Pfuhl :sal -10- JEREMY T. MAHER, : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF PLAINTIFF : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : V. : : JESSICA A. PFUHL, : DEFENDANT : 06-5178 CIVIL TERM IN RE: CUSTODY ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this day of August, 2007: (1) All prior custody orders are vacated and replaced with this order. (2) Jeremy T. Maher and Jessica A. Pfuhl shall have shared legal custody of Taylor Maher, born September 15, 2001. (3) During each school year: (a) Taylor shall live in the home of her mother and attend school from that home. The father shall have temporary physical custody every other weekend from Friday after school until Sunday evening or Monday evening if Monday is a school holiday. (b) The schedule for Thanksgiving and Christmas shall be as follows: (i) Thanksgiving: In 2007, the mother shall have Taylor on Thanksgiving. In 2008, and in alternate years thereafter the father shall have Taylor from the day before Thanksgiving until the day before school resumes. (ii) Christmas: The mother shall always have Taylor from thth December 24 through December 26. The father shall always have th Taylor from December 27 until the day before school resumes. 06-5178 CIVIL TERM (4) During each summer school vacation period starting on the Sunday after the last day of school and ending on the next to last Sunday before school begins, the father shall have Taylor every two weeks with the mother having her the next week. All exchanges on this three week schedule shall be on Sundays. (5) Unless otherwise agreed by the parents, all exchanges shall be in Breezewood at times agreed to by them. By the Court, Edgar B. Bayley, J. Barbara Sumple-Sullivan, Esquire For Jeremy T. Maher John King, Esquire For Jessica A. Pfuhl :sal -2-