Fuehrer v. Fuehrer - Superior Court - August 2, 2006
http://www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/Superior/out/a19007_06.pdf
The Superior Court affirmed the grant of primary custody of the parents' two daughters, ages 6 and 9, to mother/appellee but reversed the trial court's allowance of mother's petition for relocation to the Netherlands.
Applying the Gruber factors set out in 583 A.2d 434 (Pa. Super. 1990), the court held that the proposed move to the Netherlands would only benefit the mother's potential love interest with a man she had met in an internet chat room. Although the trial court emphasized the mother's lack of good judgment, it did not consider whether the move would be in the children's best interest, ignoring the father's good relationship with the children and the fact that they were flourishing in their present environment. The court said that children who are very young need frequent contact with the non-custodial parent and that months without physical contact would disrupt the parent-child relationship.
The court contrasted the case of Goldfarb v. Goldfarb, 861 A2d 340, in which mother's petition to relocated to Israel was granted, since family had lived in Israel before, they would be returning to familiar culture, mother had extensive family support there, and 2 of 3 children had been born there.
