Maynard v. McNett

Summary

The Supreme Court of North Dakota reversed an order permitting a parent with joint legal and joint physical custody to relocate with the parties’ child from North Dakota to Missouri. The court held that, before granting relocation, the district court must first determine under the custody-modification standard whether the child’s best interests require a change in primary custody to the relocating parent. Because no motion to change custody had been filed, the relocation order was improper.

Holdings

1. The parties' stipulated divorce judgment established joint legal and joint physical custody, and both parents were custodial parents with parental rights; the fact that the child spent more nights with McNett did not convert the arrangement into sole custody.
2. A parent with joint legal and joint physical custody may not be granted permission to relocate with the child unless the district court first determines that the child's best interests require a change in primary custody to the relocating parent.
3. The district court erred by treating McNett as the sole custodial parent and applying the primary-custodian relocation analysis without first deciding primary custody. Because no motion to change custody had been filed, the relocation motion could not properly be granted.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the divorce judgment created joint legal and joint physical custody even though the child spent more days with McNett.
2. Whether a parent with joint legal and joint physical custody may obtain permission to relocate with the child without first seeking a change in primary custody.
3. Whether the district court properly applied the relocation standards under N.D.C.C. § 14-09-07.

Disposition

reversed