Bisno v. Bisno
| Decision Date | 07 February 1977 |
| Docket Number | No. 31835,31835 |
| Citation | 238 Ga. 328,232 S.E.2d 921 |
| Parties | Audrey Phylis BISNO v. David Charles BISNO. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Margie Pitts Hames, Patricia Anne Moss, Atlanta, for appellant.
Hicks & Scroggins, John H. Hicks, Atlanta, for appellee.
A mother appeals from an order in DeKalb Superior Court changing the custody of two minor children from the mother to the father. Custody had been granted to the mother in an earlier divorce decree which adopted an agreement between the parents for the mother to have custody of the children.
The present change of custody arose out of the mother's decision to move from DeKalb County to Bibb County with the children. The father, a practicing ophthalmologist in Atlanta, contended there was a material change in conditions affecting the welfare of the children after the mother refused his request to let the children remain with him and continue their education at the Hebrew Academy which they had attended as students for two years. The trial court conducted a hearing and ordered a change in the custody of the children to the father.
It is now well established that Robinson v. Ashmore, 232 Ga. 498, 207 S.E.2d 484 (1974), and its progeny are the modern focal authorities for judging change of custody awards in Georgia. These authorities recognize that, in applying legal standards in these cases, the trial courts have wide discretion. However, if there is to be any uniformity in the application of standards to be followed in these custody disputes, some guidance must come from this court. Otherwise, similar factual situations may constitute a material change in conditions in one trial court and result in the opposite conclusion in another trial court. Thus, there are limits to the trial court's discretion which cannot be stated with the precision of a mathematical formula but emerge from the adjudicative facts of particular cases. The present case illustrates this rule.
The only evidence of any change affecting these minor children grows out of their removal as students from the Hebrew Academy in Atlanta and the natural desire of their father for the children to remain with him and for their excellent education at the Academy to continue. This falls short of proving a material change substantially affecting the welfare of the minor children. See e.g. Heard v. Vegas, 233 Ga. 911, 913(2), 213 S.E.2d 873 (1975). There is no evidence that the children cannot enjoy a comparative...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Maxwell v. Johnson
...over how a child will be educated is not a material change that will justify a change of custody."); see also Bisno v. Bisno , 238 Ga. 328, 328-29, 232 S.E.2d 921 (1977) (noting that "[t]he only evidence of any change affecting these minor children grows out of their removal as students fro......
-
Lowry v. Winenger
...over the child's extracurricular activities.3 Cf. Terry v. Garibaldi, 274 Ga.App. 405, 408, 618 S.E.2d 6 (2005) (citing Bisno v. Bisno, 238 Ga. 328, 232 S.E.2d 921 (1977) and Daniel v. Daniel, 250 Ga.App. 482, 552 S.E.2d 479 (2001) ).4 It was proper for the trial court to consider a variety......
-
Daniel v. Daniel, A98A0812.
...Ga. 457, 459(4), 219 S.E.2d 704 (1975); see also Crumbley v. Stewart, 238 Ga. 169-170, 231 S.E.2d 772 (1977). But see Bisno v. Bisno, 238 Ga. 328, 232 S.E.2d 921 (1977) (noting that there are limits to trial court's In this case, there was reasonable evidence supporting the trial court's de......
-
Lewis v. Lewis, s. 59913
...S.E.2d 484 (1974) and its progeny are the modern focal authorities for judging change of custody awards in Georgia." Bisno v. Bisno, 238 Ga. 328, 232 S.E.2d 921 (1977). Robinson was an "action in the nature of habeas corpus" against the permanent custodians (grandparents) of the minor. In r......