Duran v. Weaver, 55942
| Decision Date | 15 October 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 55942,55942 |
| Parties | Pat Michael DURAN v. Eleanor Duran WEAVER. |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
Franklin M. Coleman, Daniel P. Self, Jr., Meridian, for appellant.
Buren T. Batson, Jr., Lexington, Thomas J. Lowe, Jr., Jackson, for appellee.
Before HAWKINS, P.J., and DAN M. LEE and SULLIVAN, JJ.
The Chancery Court of Holmes County, Chancellor E.G. Cortright presiding, denied Duran's petition to modify Weaver's visitation with their children and granted Weaver's petition to modify the prior custody decree and awarded the two children of these two parties to Weaver. Duran has appealed that decision to this Court.
On November 7, 1982, the Durans were divorced by joint complaint. Their two children, Virginia, born September 15, 1979, and Michael, born October 19, 1980, were placed in the custody of their father Duran, and specific visitation rights were granted to their mother. The parties did this as well as settle their property rights by agreement which was made a part of their complaint.
At the time of the divorce the parties lived in Lexington, and Duran worked on an oil rig and was gone every other two weeks. Therefore, the visitation awarded to the mother provided that during the two week period Duran was working, the maternal grandparents of the two children would keep them and their mother could visit them at the home of the maternal grandparents.
Approximately three weeks after the divorce decree was entered Mrs. Duran became Mrs. Weaver and still lives in Lexington. Several months later Mr. Duran married a woman from Meridian. He and the children moved to Meridian, which was closer to his work.
On February 21, 1984, almost one year after the move to Meridian, Duran filed a motion to modify the divorce decree to change the visitation schedule. His essential allegations were that the move had placed an additional expense on his compliance with the visitation schedule; keeping the children at home would provide a more stable environment for them; that since remarried, the second Mrs. Duran could tend to the children while he was gone to work; and, the oldest child was reaching school age and could not attend school if she was in Meridian two weeks and Lexington two weeks. Duran prayed for a modification to allow the children to remain in his home when he was working and to modify the existing visitation as the chancellor deemed proper, but with such visitation to remain under the control and supervision of the maternal grandparents as already provided.
Weaver answered and filed a cross-petition to modify seeking to have permanent custody changed to her. Her essential allegations were that she had now remarried a man capable and desirous of affording the children a home; she would not be working outside the home and could devote full time to the children; and, since the oldest child was at school age that child needed to remain in the same locality during the school year.
At the conclusion of the hearing the chancellor delivered a lengthy opinion. He noted that both parents were in agreement that the present arrangement was not in the children's best interest. He further noted that Weaver agreed that Duran was a fit and proper person to have custody, as he had been at the time the divorce decree was entered.
The chancellor found that at the time of the divorce Duran was fit and proper and that he was still fit and proper, and there was no change in circumstances that was attributed to his misconduct. The chancellor also was impressed by Duran's new wife.
The chancellor then discussed Weaver's position and pointed out that though she was working now she "indicated" that she would not work if she was awarded custody and could devote full time to the children. The chancellor noted there was no way to know that she would indeed quit her job and to him it appeared doubtful that her husband's earnings were...
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