Masser v. Miller - Superior Court - December 11, 2006
http://www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/Superior/out/a25012_06.pdf
The trial court properly denied the mother's petition to relocate the parties' 14 y/o daughter from Schuylkill to Dauphin County where
- both extended families lived in Schuylkill County
- child had daily contact with both families - child was very close to her half-brother in Schuylkill County
- child did not want to move
- the child had significant extracurricular activities in her current location
- there was no particular benefit to the move
- the move would cause a significant disruption in continuity and stability
The court's rejection of the opinion of the court-appointed expert was justified by the facts, which showed that the expert did not have a "sufficient understanding" of the effect that the proposed move would have on the child's contact with the extended families.
The court noted that the use of the Gruber analysis is "not necessarily required in analyzing all intra-state relocation disputes" but rather is "within the discretion of the trial court" which was properly exercised in this case.
The court also approved the modification of the existing order to expand father's partial custody, to reflect the "custody actually being exercised by the parties," as well as the best interests of the child.
