James R. Stout, Jr., Plaintiff and Appellee v. Julene L. Stout, Defendant and Appellant

Summary

The court held that a custodial parent seeking to relocate a child out of state must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the move serves the child's best interests, applying a four-factor analysis focused on quality-of-life advantages, parental motives, and realistic substitute visitation. It concluded the trial court clearly erred by treating rehabilitative support as a reason to keep the custodial parent in North Dakota, discounting non-economic benefits, and applying an inappropriate change-of-circumstances analysis. The denial of relocation was reversed, and the case was remanded for an amended visitation schedule. Justice Sandstrom, dissenting, would have affirmed because the majority undervalued the child's interest in regular visitation and departed from longstanding law and legislative intent.