Ottawa Child Custody looks at parents morality. (810) 235-1970

OTTAWA PARENTS IN CHILD CUSTODY HEARING WILL HAVE EVALUATED THEIR Factor “f”: Moral Fitness

The concept of fault can be factored into a custody decision even given Michigan’s no-fault divorce statute. Feldman v Feldman, 55 Mich App 147, 222 NW2d 2 (1974); Kretzschmar v Kretzschmar, 48 Mich App 279, 210 NW2d 352 (1973). SEE http://www.attorneybankert.com


Factor “f” evaluates the parties’ relative moral fitness only as it relates to how they will function as a parent and not as to who is the morally superior adult. Fletcher v Fletcher, 447 Mich 871, 526 NW2d 889 (1994) (error in finding that this factor favored plaintiff; there was no evidence that defendant’s extramarital affairs had any adverse effect on her ability to raise children).

Although an extramarital affair is not necessarily a reliable indicator of the party’s parenting ability, in Berger v Berger, 277 Mich App 700, 747 NW2d 336 (2008), the court found that the unique nature of defendant’s affair, i.e., seducing the children’s nanny, plaintiff’s cousin, in the marital home, demonstrated extraordinarily poor judgment and lack of insight about the impact his conduct could have on everyone in the household, including, ultimately, the children. see http://www.dumpmyspouse.com

Unmarried cohabitation by itself does not show a lack of moral fitness for the purposes of the Child Custody Act. Hilliard v Schmidt, 231 Mich App 316, 323–324, 586 NW2d 263 (1998); Truitt v Truitt, 172 Mich App 38, 431 NW2d 454 (1988); Williamson v Williamson, 122 Mich App 667, 673–674, 333 NW2d 6 (1982). However, in Helms v Helms, 185 Mich App 680, 684, 462 NW2d 812 (1990), it was not error for the court to consider the fact that plaintiff was pregnant, unmarried, and living with her boyfriend as one factor in its decision to award custody to the father.

In Berger, defendant argued that plaintiff’s decision to seek a divorce, with its inevitable disruptive effect on the children, was “questionable conduct” relevant to factor “f” as bearing on a party’s parental ability. However, because defendant offered no legal support for his argument, the court of appeals deemed it abandoned.

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