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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-5395 JAMIE MICHAEL STINE, : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF PLAINTIFF : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : V. : : LAURA JEAN STINE, : DEFENDANT : 09-5395 CIVIL TERM MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER OF COURT Masland, J., June 8, 2012:-- Before the court is the issue of whether Father should be granted periods of overnight custody with his son, Jacob Michael Stine, born October 28, 2004. As background, we note that by order of court dated January 12, 2010, the parties share legal custody of Jacob with Mother having primary physical custody, subject to Father enjoying, among other things, alternating weekends. Following a conciliation conference on February 14, 2012, at which Mother expressed concerns with Father’s living situation, an order of court was issued on February 24, 2012, that suspended Father’s periods of overnight custody. The order further noted: Counsel for the Father shall communicate with counsel for the Mother on issues with respect to Father’s living arrangements and other related matters. Assuming Father’s life gets settled down and he has a permanent address, the court will consider re-instituting overnight partial custody for the Father. Counsel for the parties are directed to communicate on these issues and counsel for the parties may contact the Custody Conciliator to schedule another conciliation conference which may be a telephone conference. The conciliator may at that time, if appropriate, recommend a revised Order re-instituting overnight partial custody for the Father. The conciliator conducted a telephone conference with the attorneys for the parties on March 13, 2012. Because they were unable to reach an agreement, a hearing was scheduled for May 9, 2012 and later rescheduled to May 24, 2012. 09-5395 CIVIL TERM At the close of the hearing, the court noted its concern with Father’s living arrangements. In particular, we noted the lack of a current lease, his multiple moves, the disturbing and sometimes assaultive “drama” at the residence, all of which is complicated by Father’s health issues. Conversely, we found Mother to have a challenging but far more stable life than Father. The testimony of Nancy Speck, a home visitation social worker for Cumberland Cares for Families, was particularly convincing with respect to Mother’s ability to parent as compared to Father. Nevertheless, by order of May 24, 2012, we kept the record open until Tuesday, June 5, 2012 to give Father the opportunity to satisfy us regarding his tenuous living arrangements. Much to our chagrin, but not to our surprise, Father has not presented any evidence that his life has “settled down.” Accordingly, we entered the following order. ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this day of June, 2012, following a hearing on May 24, 2012 that raised substantial concerns for the court regarding Father’s living DIRECT arrangements, which concerns Father failed to adequately address, we that the suspension of Father’s overnight custody be continued indefinitely. Father shall continue to have periods of partial custody with his son on alternating weekends on Fridays from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. In all other respects the prior orders of court dated January 12, 2010 and February 24, 2012, shall remain in full force and effect. By the Court, Albert H. Masland, J. -2- 09-5395 CIVIL TERM Jane Adams, Esquire For Plaintiff Marcus A. McKnight, III, Esquire For Defendant :saa -3- JAMIE MICHAEL STINE, : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF PLAINTIFF : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : V. : : LAURA JEAN STINE, : DEFENDANT : 09-5395 CIVIL TERM ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this day of June, 2012, following a hearing on May 24, 2012 that raised substantial concerns for the court regarding Father’s living DIRECT arrangements, which concerns Father failed to adequately address, we that the suspension of Father’s overnight custody be continued indefinitely. Father shall continue to have periods of partial custody with his son on alternating weekends on Fridays from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. In all other respects the prior orders of court dated January 12, 2010 and February 24, 2012, shall remain in full force and effect. By the Court, Albert H. Masland, J. Jane Adams, Esquire For Plaintiff Marcus A. McKnight, III, Esquire For Defendant :saa