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Viamonte v. Viamonte3/10/2000
it is clear to us that the chancellor here met the actual requirement articulated by cases like Hadick, providing adequate factual support for the inferences she drew that affected her custody decision. In Hadick, the chancellor based his decision upon his own inferences, unsupported by facts in the opinion, that the custodial parent's care of a mentally retarded and physically handicapped child would adversely affect his care for the other siblings. We held that in such cases the chancellor should make a factual finding regarding the negative impact of keeping the siblings together, for there he based his custody decision upon his perception that keeping the family intact would harm some of the children. 90 Md. App. at 740. We did not hold, however, that the trial court must always make an isolated finding on the merits of separating siblings. Instead, we simply required that all inferences upon which the custody decision is based must have factual support in the record.
It is apparent here that the chancellor weighed Alex's relationship with Danny in the balance - Danny is mentioned in the opinion at the appropriate points - and significant evidence was adduced to show that the two boys love each other and get along well. Yet, when she balanced all the factors, the chancellor found that the day-to-day presence of an older brother in Alex's life was less important than continuity in the same pre-school program and a custodial parent with the job flexibility to manage the challenges of raising a five-year-old. See Jordan, 50 Md. App. at 451-52 (upholding for reasons of continuity the continued separation of siblings who had been separated by agreement). Although appellant has cut her hours to spend more time with her children, she has suffered in the past from stress-related illness, she remains at the helm of her own business with all the attendant responsibilities, and she is the custodial parent of another child. The chancellor's decision may seem harsh to a loving mother, but it does not abuse discretion.
Likewise, we find that the chancellor's memorandum opinion adequately addresses the requirements of Rule 2-522(a). This rule simply requires the chancellor to explain, at or before the time the judgment is entered, her reasons for making her decision. Appellant specifically cites Boswell v. Boswell, 352 Md. 204, 721 A.2d 662 (1998), in which a homosexual father appealed the chancellor's order that his partner be absent from the home when the children visited. The Court of Appeals affirmed a decision of this Court vacating the order under Rule 2-522(a), because the chancellor had "articulated no reasons for the restriction other than the `inappropriateness' of the relationship, and . . . failed to state on the record how the children might be harmed by exposure to the relationship." Boswell v. Boswell, 118 Md. App. 1, 33, 701 A.2d 1153 (1997), aff'd, 352 Md. 204, 721 A.2d 662 (1998). Here, we note that the chancellor clearly articulated the rationale behind her custody decision - "that the father's personal and occupational situation is more stable and that he is therefore more able to provide for Alex" - after she had taken ten pages to lay a factual predicate for this inference. We find no abuse of discretion, and we affirm.
JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.
COSTS TO BE PAID BY APPELLANT.
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