Michigan: Appeals Court Holds that the custody shall remain the same. - BY: Jennifer M.

Link for opinion: http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9079530742697056466&q=michigan+child+custody+cases++decided+2012&hl=en&as_sdt=2,24&as_ylo=2012

The Michigan Court of Appeals held in Wardell v. Hincka, 822 N.W. 2d 278 (Mich: Court of Appeals 2012)

Defendant Joshua Hincka and plaintiff, Kristine Wardell were married December 31, 2007 and then divorced on January 5, 2010. After the divorce they had a consent judgement that stated they had joint legal and physical custody of their minor child born July 11, 2006 and which gave them a week on week off parenting time schedule. The child was to attend school in Posen, Michigan which was halfway between the plaintiff’s residence and the defendant’s residence.

In April 2011 the defendant moved to Cheboygan and filed a motion for a change of custody, citing a change in circumstances brought about by his move and his discovery that the plaintiff's husband had a criminal record.

In this case the trial court evaluated the factors and concluded that no change in custody was warranted in that the only real circumstance that had changed was the defendant’s move to Cheboygan.

The court issued an order on December 30, 2011 denying the parties’ respective motions to change custody. It found that the current custody arrangement appeared to be working and was in the best interest of the child to remain spending the most time with both parents.