Marie Stella Martin Fisher, Petitioner-Plaintiff-Appellant v. David Thomas Fisher, Respondent-Defendant-Appellee

Summary

The Hawai'i Supreme Court affirmed the Intermediate Court of Appeals' summary disposition order upholding a family court decree that allowed Father, the non-primary parent, to relocate with the couple's three daughters to Virginia over the objection of Mother, the primary caretaker. Rejecting Mother's contention that Hawai'i's relocation criteria are too amorphous, the court held that the best-interests-of-the-child standard remains paramount, with the family court exercising broad discretion and no single factor — including continuity of primary-caretaker care — given presumptive paramount weight. Because the record contained substantial evidence that the Virginia destination offered living conditions comparable to Hawai'i and testimony buttressing Father's custodianship, the court found the decision consistent with Gillespie, Maeda, and Tetreault and declined to establish a primary-caretaker-continuity presumption.