Matter of Scott E. v Annette D.

Holding The Appellate Division affirmed the Family Court’s award of primary physical custody to the father, finding that the mother’s relocation and the breakdown of the parties’ informal agreement constituted a change in circumstances. The court determined that the father provided a more stable environment given the mother’s ongoing struggle with alcoholism and her failure to disclose her relocation.

The court’s words

the mother's relocation to North Carolina coupled with the breakdown of the parties' informal agreement that the children would return to New York at the conclusion of the 2022-2023 school year establish the requisite change in circumstances

2026 NY Slip Op 06597, at the official text

granting primary physical custody to the father offered a more stable environment for the children

2026 NY Slip Op 06597, at the official text

the mother's decision to relocate and her ensuing efforts to hide that choice from the father until filing for custody in North Carolina provide support for Family Court's assessment

2026 NY Slip Op 06597, at the official text

the mother's allegations of physical violence were unsupported or that any of the inappropriate exchanges between the parties impacted the children

2026 NY Slip Op 06597, at the official text