Epler v. Epler

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The issue this case presented for the Oregon Supreme Court's review centered on two issues: whether the legal presumption described in "Troxel v. Granville," (530 US 57 (2000) (plurality opinion)), that a fit parent acts in the best interests of her child, applied to a modification proceeding in which petitioner-mother sought to modify a stipulated dissolution judgment that granted legal custody to respondent-grandmother; and (2) whether mother had to demonstrate a substantial change in circumstances to modify the dissolution judgment. Daughter, who was approximately seven years old at the time of the hearing on mother's motion, lived with her paternal grandmother for her entire life. Mother and father lived with grandmother in Oregon when daughter was born in 2003. When daughter was approximately six months old, mother and father separated, father left Oregon, and mother and daughter continued to live with grandmother. Three months after the separation, mother moved out of grandmother's residence and left daughter in grandmother's sole care. In the months that followed, mother struggled with depression, started drinking alcohol heavily, and was unable to maintain steady employment. Mother then decided to move to Virginia. Before mother moved, father and grandmother engaged legal counsel, who prepared the marital settlement agreement. Mother first filed a motion to modify custody in 2006 but voluntarily dismissed that motion. Two years later, in 2008, she filed a second motion to modify custody and, in the alternative, to modify parenting time and child support. That 2008 motion is the filing at issue in this case. The trial court denied mother's motion to modify the judgment and grant custody to her based on the change-in-circumstances rule and the best interest of the child, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. Upon review, the Oregon Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals, but based on different reasoning. The Court concluded that: (1) mother was not entitled to the Troxel presumption that her custody preference was in the child's best interest; and (2) mother was not prejudiced when she was held to the substantial change-in-circumstances rule. Ultimately, the Court affirmed the trial court's determination that a modification of the custody provisions of the judgment was not in the best interest of the child. View "Epler v. Epler" on Justia Law