Emily S. v. Matthew S. CA4/2

BACKGROUND

The record on appeal does not disclose when this case began. But in July 2023,

Matthew filed an amended request for orders regarding custody and visitation. The court

entered a temporary visitation order at a hearing on Matthew’s request and continued the

matter to August 2023 for a status conference. The court also appointed counsel to

represent the parties’ daughter. At the August status conference, the court entered a

temporary order giving Matthew “sole legal custody to make decisions regarding

healthcare and education.” (Capitalization & boldface omitted.) The court also set a

contested evidentiary hearing on Matthew’s request and scheduled it for September 2023.

The record does not contain minutes for a September 2023 evidentiary hearing, a

reporter’s transcript for any such hearing, or a register of actions. It is unclear whether

the hearing occurred as scheduled or what order the court made at that time.

2 Emily filed her request for temporary emergency orders in December 2023.

According to Emily’s request, in September 2023, the court ordered that Matthew have

sole legal and physical custody of the parties’ daughter. Emily sought a temporary…