Parenting time in Michigan and communication of the parents.

HOW IS PARENTING TIME DETERMINED IN DIVORCE COURT?

Terry R. Bankert a Flint Divorce Attorney shares his thoughts about parenting time and a recent case of the Michigan Court of appeals. If these celebrities , Tiger Woods and Sandra Bullock, divorced and lived together they would need to communicate with their ex- spouse.

An issue of possibly first impression here is the Flint Divorce parents’ inability to communicate
hampered their ability to co-parent, which was not in the minor child’s best interest.
The Flint Divorce Court looked first to what was best for these parents.

The Flint Divorce Parents had a current poor ability of the parents to cooperate, the Flint Divorce Court determined it best to minimize the amount of disruption to the minor child by gradually increasing the amount of parenting time plaintiff (father) exercised, thereby allowing plaintiff and defendant (mother) to build up to a higher level of trust between the two of them.
The goal and end result of the schedule culminated with an essentially equal division of parenting time between plaintiff and defendant when the child reached seven years of age.

FLINT DIVORCE COURT ORDERS PARENTING CLASSES AND ADJUSTMENT COUNSELING!

To facilitate that goal, the Flint Divorce Court also ordered parenting classes and “adjustment” counseling for the parties.

WHAT LAW CONTROLLS PARENTING TIME

Did you know Parenting time in Flint Divorce Court and throughout Michigan is governed by statute, MCL 722.27a:

(1) Parenting time shall be granted in accordance with the best interests of the
child. It is presumed to be in the best interests of a child for the child to have a
strong relationship with both of his or her parents. Except as otherwise provided
in this section, parenting time shall be granted to a parent in a frequency, duration,
and type reasonably calculated to promote a strong relationship between the child
and the parent granted parenting time.

CAN CUSTODY BE THREATEND BECAUSE THE PARENTS CANNOT GET ALONG

Here we will talk about Child custody; Whether the trial court properly allocated parenting time between the parties; MCL 722.27a; Pickering v. Pickering; Berger v. Berger; Phillips v. Jordan. “Orders regarding parenting time must be affirmed on appeal unless the trial court’s findings were against the great weight of evidence, the court committed a palpable abuse of discretion, or the court made a clear legal error on a major issue.”

WHAT IS JUDICIAL DISCRETION IN FAMILY COURT? WHEN IS IT ABUSED?

An abuse of discretion occurs when the trial court’s decision “is so palpably and grossly violative of fact and logic that it evidences a perversity of will, a defiance of judgment, or the exercise of passion or bias.” Berger v Berger, 277 Mich App 700, 705; 747 NW2d 336 (2008). However, rulings, such as custody decisions, are discretionary and are reviewed for an abuse of discretion. Phillips v Jordan, 241 Mich App 17, 20; 614 NW2d 183 (2000).

LOCAL FAMILY LAW DECISION ARE FIRST APPEALED TO THE MICHGIAN COURT OF APPEALS

This issue was heard before the Michigan Court of Appeals (Unpublished), 03/16/2010, Case Name: Knieper v. Dumas-Knieper
e-Journal Number: 45342, Genesee County Family Court 08-283542-DM
In the Flint family Court this case was before Judge Behm. The fathers Attorney is barbara dawes and the Mothers Attorney is Linda Pylypiw.

The Court of Appeals decided thew Flint Family Court has before it evidence, a record, that the communication problem between the parties was extremely significant.
This issue dominated the two-day trial, the issue was allowed by the catch-all exceptions not enumerated in §§ 23 and 23a(6).

The Flint divorce Court looked at the best interest factors and essentially found the parties equal on them, and to facilitate the goal of equal parenting time by the time the child is seven the trial court ordered the parties to attend parenting classes and "adjustment" counseling. The Court of Appeals said it was okay when looking at the Flint Divorce Court's allocation of parenting time.
The parties were married in 2007 and separated shortly after the birth of their child in 2008, when the defendant-wife left the marital home with the child and went to her parents' home. Plaintiff filed for divorce.

At the time of trial, both parties were teachers and worked from 7:15 AM to 2:45 PM during the school year. Defendant's mother provided day care while the parties worked. The parties stipulated to having joint legal and physical custody.

After a hearing, the trial court made its findings, evaluated each of the "best interest" factors and found the applicable factors each equally favored or disfavored each party alike. The trial court implemented a tiered approach to parenting time with different schedules dependent on the child's age and whether the parenting time was during the school year or the summer.

The trial judge then implemented a tiered approach to parenting time with
different schedules dependant upon the child’s age and whether it was during the school year as
follows:

A. Until the Clio Schools are released for the 2009 summer, Plaintiff’s
parenting time shall be as set forth in the temporary order, to wit:

1. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. . . .

2. Every Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.

C. Once the Clio Schools are released for the summer, Plaintiff shall have
parenting time as follows until the minor child attains the age of three:

1. Every Tuesday, starting June 16, 2009, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
through Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.

2. Every other Friday, beginning June 19, 2009, from at 10:00 a.m. to
Saturday at 10:00 a.m.

3. Every other Saturday, beginning June 13, 2009, from 10:00 a.m. to
Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

D. Once the minor child attains the age of three years to the age of seven
years, Plaintiff shall have the following parenting time:

1. During the summer, Plaintiff shall have the minor child on alternate
weekends, beginning Friday at 10:00 a.m. through Monday morning at
10:00 a.m. In addition, Plaintiff shall have the minor child every other
week from Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. to Friday at 10:00 a.m.

2. During the school year, Plaintiff shall have the minor child on alternate
weekends, beginning Friday at 10:00 a.m. through Monday morning at
10:00 a.m. In addition, Plaintiff shall have the minor child every week
from Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. to Thursday at 10:00 a.m.

E. Once the minor child attains the age of seven years to the age of ten years,
Plaintiff shall have the following parenting time:

1. During the summer, Plaintiff shall have the minor child on alternate
weekends, beginning Thursday at 10:00 a.m. through Monday
morning at 10:00 a.m. In addition, Plaintiff shall have the minor child
every week from Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. to Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.

2. During the school year, Plaintiff shall have the minor child on alternate
weekends, beginning Thursday at 10:00 a.m. through Monday
morning at 10:00 a.m. In addition, Plaintiff shall have the minor child
every week from Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. to Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.

F. Once the minor child attains ten years of age, then Plaintiff’s parenting
time shall be as follows:

1. During the summer, the parties shall alternate weeks, every Sunday at
8:00 p.m.

2. During the school year, Plaintiff shall have alternate weekends,
commencing Thursday at 10:00 a.m. through Monday 10:00 a.m. and every
Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. to Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.
　
On appeal, the plaintiff objected to the trial court's parenting time schedule.
The Flint divorce Court acknowledged a fact influencing its decision was the "substantial communication problem" existing between the parties, and stressed it was not initially awarding any overnights to plaintiff not because he was not individually fit or worthy, but because of the high level of acrimony, distrust, and lack of cooperation between the parties.

The parents' inability to communicate hampered their ability to co-parent, which was not in the child's best interest. Thus, the trial court decided it was best to minimize the amount of disruption to the child by gradually increasing the amount of parenting time plaintiff had, and allowing the parties to build a higher level of trust between them.

The court noted the parenting order was only a back-up/default position. The schedule will take effect "[i]n the event the parties are unable to agree on reasonable parenting time." Further, the trial court did not preclude the plaintiff from seeking more frequent specific parenting time, which would have been an abuse of discretion.

The Michgian Court of Appeals noted that the parenting time order is only a back-up or default provision.

The schedule is only to take effect “[i]n the event the parties are unable to agree on reasonable parenting time.” Moreover, we note that the trial judge did not preclude plaintiff from seeking more frequent specific parenting time, which would have been an abuse of discretion. See, MCL
722.27a(7).

Posted Here by
Terry R. Bankert
A Flint Divorce attorney.
http://www.attorneybankert.com/.
Bankert also practices State Wide with Domestic Mediation.
http://www.dumpmyspouse.com/