In Re the Marriage of Tracy Lynn Hoffman and Ernst Franklin Hoffman, Upon the Petition of Tracy Lynn Hoffman…

Summary

The court held that the mother's approximately seventy-mile relocation with the children did not constitute a substantial change in circumstances warranting modification of the dissolution decree. Applying de novo review, the court concluded the father failed to show that the move harmed the children's best interests or that he could minister to their needs more effectively than the mother. The court affirmed the intermediate appellate decision, reversed the district court's custody modification, and remanded for a new visitation schedule and recalculation of child support. Justice Waterman, joined by Justices Wiggins and Mansfield, dissenting, would have deferred to the district court and affirmed the transfer of physical care to the father.