Contempt Case Deemed Sufficient Notice For Custody Modification

Since the child custody statute was updated in 2010, a considerable about of time and effort on the part of the Superior Court has been spent clarifying various aspects of the law. Among the more pertinent issues related to how the statute was to function is the trial court's obligation to consider and opine on all of the custody factors. Previous appellate cases have shaped this requirement (or, conversely, the absence of the requirement) where "discrete" issues of custody are being considered or where a substantive change to the custody schedule is occurring.

It is the latter where the Superior Court has recently remanded a case back to the Trial Court with an order for it to fully explore and articulate how they have addressed the custody factors in a given case. In that case, C.A.J. v. D.S.M., 2016 WL 685169, Father filed a contempt petition on the parties 2013 agreed custody order. Within that petition, he sought a significant modification of the