COURT DIDN’T THINK CANADA WOULD BE BETTER
After she moved to Broome County from British Columbia, Canada, she married a local guy and, in 2017, had a child.
Shortly after his birth, the kid was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. When the couple separated and the mother moved back to Canada, the kid was also found to have a “genetic mutation, which caused the child to have seizures.” In 2020, the father applied for custody, as did the mother. After a hearing, the Broome County Family Court determined that the parties should share joint custody, but “primary residency” was granted to the dad, with the mom given “parenting time.”
On appeal, the Appellate Division, Third Department, thought the Family Court’s decision was supported by a “sound and substantial basis in the record.” Among other things, the court noted that since the couple’s separation, the father had assumed the primary caregiver role. And given the extensive medical care and treatments the child required, it thought that the dad was in a better position to “seamlessly” provide those services.
Because the mother failed to present an actual medical plan, and “offered only vague, conclusory testimony that services in Canada would be better,” the AD3, while certainly “sympathetic” to the mother, thought it in the child’s best interests to leave the outcome undisturbed.
That certainly piqued our interest …..
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DECISION