Judge Grants Luke Clark’s Request for Grandparent Custody of Children

MMD&C’s head of its Family Law Department, Lucas A. Clark, IV, Esquire, was recently successful in an extensive Delaware County custody case in which he represented the children’s Paternal Grandmother.  After effectively representing and arguing his client’s case, the Court entered its Final Order awarding Mr. Clark’s client primary physical custody of the children and allowing their relocation to her home in Pittsburgh.

Before coming to this Final Order, the parties were involved in long and ongoing litigation in this matter.  It began in November of 2017 when Paternal Grandmother filed her initial Complaint for Custody after her son, who was the children’s father, passed away and she alleged that the children’s mother had failed to provide stability and shelter for them.  This Complaint was ultimately dismissed when no one arrived at the Custody Conference.  Thereafter, in December of 2019, Paternal Grandmother retained Mr. Clark as counsel and filed an Emergency Custody Petition as the children’s mother was incarcerated on serious drug charges.  The Court referred the matter to the Hearing Officer, who awarded Paternal Grandmother sole legal and physical custody, which was approved by the Court.  However, in February 2020, Maternal Grandfather filed a Petition to Intervene and was permitted to do so.  Accordingly, he and Paternal Grandmother agreed on a shared physical custody schedule pending trial prior to mandatory school beginning.

It was in October of 2021 when Paternal Grandmother filed another Emergency Petition alleging that Mother had been released from prison and Maternal Grandfather was allowing Mother to have unsupervised time with the children in a hotel room.  Subsequently though, Maternal Grandfather was actually awarded custody of the children because the Court wanted the children around Mother.  However, less than one year later, Maternal Grandfather agreed to turn the children back over to Paternal Grandmother in late summer of 2022 and she retained custody ever since.

In her continued fight to keep the children in a stable and healthy environment, Paternal Grandmother filed a Petition for Relocation to finally formalize the children’s to move into her home in Pittsburgh. Accordingly, the Court scheduled a full day trial and found that Maternal Grandfather had failed to appear and relinquished his custody months prior. Therefore, the Court was no longer considering him as a party to whom custody should be awarded in this matter.

In deciding a custody case, the Court is concerned with the best interests of the children involved. Such matters are governed by 23 Pa.C.S. § 5328, which contains 16 factors a Court must consider when determining the best interests of the children. In addition, in this case, Mr. Clark’s client was tasked with showing the court that the relocation of the children was in their best interests as well. In viewing the 16 factors, the Court felt that granting Paternal Grandmother primary custody was in the best interests of the children involved. Mother had been previously arrested for possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and, therefore, her ability to perform parental duties was impaired due to her periods of incarceration as well as her housing instability. Paternal Grandmother had been successful in creating structure for the children and ensuring that they were involved in their education, extracurricular activities, and more. The Court had also taken note of the children’s absences from school when not in the custody of Paternal Grandmother and observed that the children had missed a number of school days when they were not with Paternal Grandmother. Paternal Grandmother had taken the steps to enroll the children in school and ensured that they would attend unless they were ill.

After viewing the facts on the record, the Court felt that Paternal Grandmother was in a better position overall to provide the children with a loving, stable, and consistent environment. Ultimately, Mr. Clark was able to plead his client’s case successfully, and the Court granted Paternal Grandmother’s Petition for Relocation in addition to granting her primary physical custody of the children subject to partial physical custody to Mother.

Here at MMD&C, we understand how emotional legal matters involving one’s family can be. That’s why our attorneys at MMD&C are ready to fight for the most beneficial results for you and your family. Contact our office at 610-891-8806 to schedule an appointment.