Kantor v. Kantor

• Decision Date: 28 June 1989
• Docket Number: No. 87-2478,87-2478
• Citation: 14 Fla. L. Weekly 1549,545 So.2d 1378
• Parties: 14 Fla. L. Weekly 1549 Debbie A. KANTOR, a/k/a Debbie A. Drecksel, Appellant, v. George S. KANTOR, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 1378

545 So.2d 1378

14 Fla. L. Weekly 1549

Debbie A. KANTOR, a/k/a Debbie A. Drecksel, Appellant, v. George S. KANTOR, Appellee.

No. 87-2478.

District Court of Appeal of Florida,

Fourth District.

June 28, 1989.

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Palm Beach County; Richard B. Burk, Judge.

Jane Kreusler-Walsh and Larry Klein of Klein, Beranek & Walsh, P.A., and Ronald Sales, West Palm Beach, for appellant.

Edna L. Caruso of Edna L. Caruso, P.A., West Palm Beach, and Slawson & Burman, North Palm Beach, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

AFFIRMED.

GUNTHER, J., concurs.

GLICKSTEIN, J., concurs specially with opinion.

ROBINSON, STEVEN D., Associate Judge, concurs specially with opinion.

GLICKSTEIN, Judge, concurring specially.

The trial court's final judgment recites, in part:

1. Although there are a number of issues to be resolved by the Court, the focal point of this proceeding is the welfare and future of the parties' minor child, Konrad, born April 30, 1985 in West Palm Beach Florida, A copy of Wife's Exhibit 2 (a photograph of Konrad) is attached to this Final Judgment.

2.A. This is a proceeding for dissolution of marriage between Debbie A. Kantor a/k/a Debbie A. Drecksel, born November 20, 1955 and George S. Kantor, born March 8, 1949. The Wife is the youngest of six children born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah and is a devote Mormon. She has a high school education and training as a keypunch operator together with one and a half years of attendance at the University of Utah. She has also been a part-time physical therapist. All of her family, including her parents and her siblings, still reside in Salt Lake City, the Wife having been the only one to have left town, first to California and then to Florida. She has probably been an anomaly in her family in that among other things, she and the Husband lived together, out of-wedlock, for three years prior to their marriage on May 20, 1984 in Key West, Florida, (the marriage appears to have been a spontaneous occurrence without much, if any, prior planning). The parties met while the Husband was a medical intern at a hospital in Salt Lake City and from there they moved to California for a period of time before moving to Palm Beach, Florida. The Wife has in the past done professional modeling and has been in at least three television commercials for such products as Pepsi and Wranglers. The Husband is a reconstructive orthopedic surgeon. He is an only child whose father is a retired Rochester, New York police officer. Konrad is the only grandchild of the Husband's parents. The Husband and his parents have lived off and on for sixteen years here in Florida and New York. The Husband began his orthopedic practice in Palm Beach County several years ago after moving from Los Angeles, California. The wife joined him several months after he had moved to Florida.

2.B In addition to his orthopedic reconstructive surgery practice, the Husband, not surprisingly, is an accomplished carpenter and as a sideline has for a number of years purchased "handyman special" homes and with his own efforts has remodeled same and thereafter sold same for a profit. This side activity, which has been ongoing long prior to the parties' marriage, has at present culminated in the purchase by the Husband and reconstruction of the present marital residence. In addition to the Husband's direct investment of money and labor, a twenty-five thousand dollar loan was obtained from the Husband's parents which also went into the purchase of the marital residence. These matters, coupled with a conveyance by the Husband to the Wife by Quit-Claim Deed of the marital residence in November of 1985 (Husband's Exhibit No. 11), will be considered later in the Final Judgment.

....

10. A substantial amount of testimony and evidence has been presented during the course of the trial regarding the Wife's career opportunities in professional modeling here in Florida versus California. The professionals who have testified in the case indicate that New York and Los Angeles are the primary business centers for professional models. There was adduced testimony however, that while not in the same league as New York and California, Florida does have in the Palm Beach to Miami area a substantial modeling demand. As with everything else in life, timing is a factor. Timing addresses itself not only to the age limitations of the Wife's activities in modeling but also to the recent sales tax enactment by the Florida Legislature. Testimony was adduced during the trial that the sales tax impact on advertising sending advertisers out of the State of Florida will adversely impact on the Wife's abilities to pursue a financially rewarding career in modeling in the State of Florida. If Konrad had not blessed these parties, the decisions in this case would be rather simple, i.e., a dissolution could be granted and the Wife could go to California to pursue her career in modeling and the Husband could remain here in Florida and pursue his orthopedic practice. With the advent of Konrad, the geographical locations of the parties becomes important not just from the standpoint of their careers but also as it relates to the logistics of Konrad sharing time and life's experience with both of his parents. It is clear to the Court that the law should not and does not in this day of rapid transportation and communications limit parties to the geographic areas of their endeavors. The Court does not have the lawful authority nor should it have the lawful authority to require any particular individual, husband or wife, to live in one place as opposed to any other place. The Court also recognizes however, that the location of a minor might well impact upon the geographic location of the minor's parents.

12.[Sic] Returning now to the focal point of this "dissolution proceeding", the Court has received reports in evidence and testimony as it relates to Konrad and Konrad's future. The Court has struggled with the divergent views of the professionals who have testified in this case as well as the recommendation of the Guardian and the desires of the mother and father of Konrad. Succinctly put, the Guardian ad litem and the Wife's experts espoused the "tender years" doctrine and therefore recommend to the Court and urge that Konrad should be in the primary residence of his mother; that the residence should be in Los Angeles, California and that the father should be allowed to send video tapes of himself to Konrad, make regular telephone calls to Konrad and visit transcontinentally with Konrad whenever the father wishes to do so. The Wife's position is that if she were required to remain here in Florida and thereby be unable to pursue her career in modeling in California that she would be unhappy and this would adversely affect Konrad. The mother further opposes even overnight visitations with the father at this time based upon the professional testimony to the effect that Konrad is frightened when he has to go to bed in a different bed other than the one that he has at the residence with his mother. In juxtaposition to the Wife's experts, the Husband's experts and Doctor Alexander who was appointed by the Court to study the mother and the father, strongly recommend and urge to the Court that weekly ongoing physical contact between Konrad and his mother as well as his father is necessary in order to establish "bonding" between Konrad and his parents. The Husband's experts strongly believe that the necessary bonding in Konrad's best interest could not be accomplished transcontinentally. After much deliberation and evaluation of the testimony of the experts as well as the other witnesses who have testified to the relationship between Konrad and his father and Konrad and his mother and placing Konrad's best interest as the top priority in this case, the Court determines that it is necessary and required in Konrad's best interest that Konrad have regular weekly physical contact with both his mother and his father. With that determination being the guiding force and direction in this case, the Court will address the other issues.

14.[Sic] Although this is titled a Final Judgment, the only "final" resolutions are those that relate to the actual dissolution and the property divisions. The determinations relating to Konrad insofar as support, residency and shared parental responsibility are, absent some further agreement between the parties, to be reviewed on an annual basis to determine by Konrad's progress the appropriateness of the Court's determinations.

15. Inasmuch as the parties agreed to establish their family here in Florida and inasmuch as it is the mother who finds the need to move cross-country to pursue her career, and inasmuch as the Court has determined that it is in Konrad's best interest to have regular weekly contact with both parents, the Court will determine by this judgment that for the ensuing year Konrad's residence will be herein Florida. The parties have agreed that the Wife should be the primary residential parent and have agreed to a present visitation schedule. Even though the Court will determine a special equity in the Husband in the marital home place until the home place is sold, the Wife shall be granted along with Konrad the exclusive use and occupancy of said residence. Should the Wife in furtherance of her professional career find it necessary to go to California or New York, arrangements will be made for the Husband to become the primary residential parent during the Wife's sojourn whether the period of time involved be more than five days to a permanent move. It is the specific determination of the Court that for the ensuing year any cross country traveling will be done by the Wife and not by Konrad nor the Husband. This decision is not intended to be an imprisonment of the Wife here in Florida but is rather specifically designed to allow the Wife to leave Florida to pursue her career and to allow...