Christopher M. Pennington, Appellant v. Heather M. Marcum (f/k/a Miles), Appellee

Summary

The Court affirmed the order maintaining joint custody with the mother as primary residential parent after her relocation to Virginia. It held that post-decree relocation requires the court first to determine whether the requested relief changes the legal nature of custody or merely modifies timesharing, and that the latter is governed by the child's best interests. Because the father's motion was filed more than two years after the custody decree, both his custody and timesharing requests were properly evaluated under the best-interests standard, and the trial court's findings were supported by substantial evidence. Justice Cunningham, joined by Justice Venters, dissenting, would have vacated and remanded for fuller findings concerning the relocation's impact on the child and parental relationships.