Staggs v. Staggs
| Decision Date | 24 May 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 2004-CA-00443-COA.,2004-CA-00443-COA. |
| Citation | 919 So.2d 112 |
| Parties | Kenneth Eugene STAGGS, Jr., Appellant v. Lynn Allison Gulledge STAGGS, Appellee. |
| Court | Mississippi Court of Appeals |
Lisa B. Milner, Jackson, attorney for appellant.
David Edwin James, Marty Craig Robertson, attorneys for appellee.
Before KING, C.J., CHANDLER and BARNES, JJ.
CHANDLER, J., for the Court.
¶ 1. After Lynn Staggs Kudisch moved with her children and her new husband to Maryland, Ken Staggs filed suit for custody of the children. Lynn counterclaimed and requested an increase in child support. The Lauderdale County Chancery Court denied Ken's request to change custody and granted Lynn's request for child support. Ken appeals, raising the following issues:
I. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR ERRED IN REFUSING TO GRANT A CHANGE OF CUSTODY OF KENNY
II. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR ERRED IN INCREASING KEN'S CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS
¶ 2. Finding no error, we affirm.
FACTS
¶ 3. Kenneth Eugene Staggs, Jr. ("Ken") and Lynn Allison Gulledge Staggs Kudisch, both medical doctors, were divorced on July 6, 1999, in Lauderdale County, Mississippi. The Lauderdale County courts have maintained jurisdiction throughout the parties' litigation. Ken continues to live in Lauderdale County. The parties agreed that Lynn would be the primary physical custodian of the parties' three children. The children are Kenneth Eugene Staggs, III ("Kenny"), born June 27, 1993; Savannah Rose Staggs, born January 26, 1995; and Isabelle Marie Staggs ("Belle"), born October 13, 1997.
¶ 4. In January of 2001, Lynn moved with the children to Hattiesburg because of a new job opportunity. Because of this move, Ken attempted to modify custody, and he later negotiated a settlement with Lynn, which expanded Ken's visitation privileges and granted Ken extensive visitation time during the summer months.
¶ 5. In May of 2001, Lynn was arrested for prescription forgery. After this arrest, she realized that she also needed help for her excessive consumption of alcohol. She entered her rehabilitation treatment on June 27, 2001. She signed a "Recovery Contract Agreement" with the Mississippi Recovering Physicians Program on September 10, 2001. When Ken learned that Lynn had been arrested, he filed a second custody modification suit. After a trial, the chancellor denied Ken's request for a change of custody based on the lack of a showing of a material change of circumstances.
¶ 6. Jeff Kudisch, Lynn's current husband, is a college professor. Jeff accepted a teaching position at the University of Maryland in August of 2002. He moved to Ellicott City, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore, at that time. Lynn and Jeff were engaged in October of 2002. Before the wedding, Lynn and the children made several trips to Maryland in order to help the children adjust to their new home. While they were there, Lynn and Jeff slept in the same bed, even though the chancellor had instructed Lynn not to do so. In March of 2003, Lynn obtained a license to practice medicine in Maryland and signed a contract with the Maryland Physicians Recovery Program. This contract is set to expire on September 10, 2006. On July 18, 2003, Lynn and Jeff married. Lynn and the children moved to Ellicott City in August.
¶ 7. Ken believed that the children, especially Kenny, were having trouble adjusting to life in Maryland and alleged that a custody modification was warranted on those grounds. Accordingly, he filed his third request for a modification of custody. Lynn counterclaimed and requested an increase in child support. A trial was held from October 27 to October 30, 2003, and the chancellor denied Ken's request to change custody. The evidence at the trial showed that Savannah and Belle have nicely adjusted to their new home in Maryland, and the chancellor also found no material change of circumstances that would warrant a change of Kenny's custody. On appeal, Ken requests custody of Kenny only.
¶ 8. Ken alleges that Kenny has experienced increased anxiety and depression as a result of the move. Ken avers that Kenny has expressed his true feelings to his father and to Kenny's therapist, Dr. Ken Schneider. Ken believes Kenny has experienced stomachaches and headaches as a result of his stressful situation at home with Lynn. According to Ken, Kenny is concerned about his mother and the possibility of her relapse into drug abuse. Kenny believes his mother puts her own needs over his needs. Kenny is resentful of being deprived of participating in extra-curricular activities and sports. Ken believes Kenny is unable to tell his mother his true feelings because Kenny is concerned that it would upset her.
¶ 9. Ken asserts that he has a closer relationship with Kenny than Kenny has with Lynn. According to Ken, Kenny relies on his father for stability; to discuss topics such as life, religion, and "what it means to be a man;" and to alleviate his worries. Kenny testified at trial and expressed a desire to live with his father, and Ken argues that his wish should be honored.
¶ 10. The chancellor granted Lynn's request for an increase in child support and increased Ken's monthly obligation from $2,000 to $2,500. The chancellor found that an increase in child support was warranted based on the fact that the children's needs increased because they are older, based on the higher cost of living in Maryland, and based on a substantial increase in Ken's income since the time of the divorce. Ken complains that Lynn failed to prove that an increase in child support was warranted. Ken believes that the true reason for Lynn's need for increased child support was Lynn and Jeff's purchase of a $750,000 home in Maryland.
ANALYSIS
¶ 11. When a parent requests a change of custody, he must show by a preponderance of the evidence that, since the entry of the last decree sought to be modified, there must be a material change in circumstances that adversely affects the welfare of the child. Ash v. Ash, 622 So.2d 1264, 1266 (Miss.1993). Once the party has shown that an adverse change has occurred, the party must show that the best interest of the child requires the change of custody. Pace v. Owens, 511 So.2d 489, 490 (Miss.1987). This Court may reverse a chancellor's decision only if it is manifestly wrong or clearly erroneous, or if the chancellor applied an erroneous legal standard. Brocato v. Brocato, 731 So.2d 1138, 1140(¶ 8) (Miss.1999).
¶ 12. In his appeal, Ken relies heavily on the testimony of Dr. Ken Schneider, who first evaluated Kenny in February of 2003. The chancellor accepted Dr. Schneider, who holds a PhD in psychology, as an expert psychologist in the field of child and adolescent therapy. Dr. Schneider saw Kenny on February 28, March 28, May 27, June 10, June 26, July 3, July 10, July 28, July 30, and October 4, 2003. He also held two telephone conferences. Dr. Schneider's opinions on Kenny were formed based on his interviews of Kenny. Dr. Schneider evaluated Kenny to make a diagnosis and not to give a custody opinion.
¶ 13. Dr. Schneider testified that he observed signs of depression and anxiety in Kenny when he first met with Kenny on February 28. He concluded that Kenny was concerned about a possible move away from Mississippi that would separate him from his father and that his mother had broken a promise to him by moving to Hattiesburg and then planning a move to Maryland. After Kenny's first meeting with Dr. Schneider, Dr. Schneider diagnosed Kenny with an adjustment disorder with mixed features of depression and anxiety. Six months later, he changed the diagnosis because the time one can have an adjustment disorder expired, and he provided a diagnosis of depression.
¶ 14. Dr. Schneider opined that Kenny's anxiety was related to the acrimonious relationship between his parents, the separation from his father, his feeling that he had to look out for his mother, and the feeling that she did not have his best interests as paramount. The prime source of Kenny's anxiety, according to Dr. Schneider, is his separation from his father. The separation from his father causes Kenny to experience feelings of hopelessness.
¶ 15. Another source of anxiety was Kenny's observations of the interaction between his stepbrother Josh and his stepfather Jeff. Kenny had heard Jeff speaking to Josh harshly, and he witnessed frequent arguments, with Jeff sometimes punishing Josh in a physical manner. Jeff disciplines Josh approximately every other day.
¶ 16. A third source of Kenny's anxiety, according to Dr. Schneider, is the litigation, because Kenny is very interested in the outcome of the litigation because he wants to live with his father. Kenny is a sensitive person who loves both his parents and strives not to hurt the feelings of either parent. Kenny is careful to avoid comparisons about his father and mother, and he does not say that one parent is better than the other parent. Nevertheless, Kenny has conveyed his true feelings to his father and to Dr. Schneider that he would prefer to live with his father. Kenny has requested the help of his father and Dr. Schneider to attain this outcome. The net result of Kenny's anxiety, according to Dr. Schneider, is that Kenny is in an "arrested development." Kenny has made some adjustments to his school and living arrangements in Maryland, but he is not settled into his new life.
¶ 17. According to Dr. Schneider, Kenny related that he felt anxious about his mother's well-being and he felt distrust for her. Although Kenny knows that his mother loves him, he did not feel that she showed a great deal of interest in what Kenny thought aside from issues surrounding homework. Kenny feels that his mother's insistence that Kenny complete his homework each night was a kind of pressure to perform in a way that pleases...
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