In Re Marriage of Hinman

Appellant Aisha Hinman (Aisha) appeals from several orders issued after entry of a final judgment dissolving the marriage between herself and respondent Howard E. Hinman (Howard). Although she raises a number of issues, the primary one is whether a stipulated judgment awarding a parent and stepparent joint custody of a minor child may subsequently be attacked by the parent as void for lack of jurisdiction. We will reject the contention that it may and, with minor exceptions, reject the remainder of Aisha’s challenges to the orders of the trial court.

Background

On February 22, 1989, Aisha petitioned for dissolution of the marriage of seven years and four months to Howard. The petition listed 5 minor children of the marriage: Fairiz age 11, Farah age 10, Julianna, age 6, Joshua, age 4, and Justin, a newborn. In fact the two oldest children, Fairiz and Farah, were fathered by Aisha’s husband from a former marriage. In her petition, Aisha requested that she and Howard share joint legal custody of all five children and that she be awarded physical custody.

The case was tried before the Honorable Judith Kozloski on December 18, 1989. On the sixth day of trial the case…