Williams v. Williams
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Yegan, J.
In this family law move-away case, the court permitted two of four children to move away. As we shall explain, a family law court may enter an order which has the effect of separating siblings only when compelling circumstances dictate that such separation is in the children’s best interest.
Christopher Brett Williams (Father) and Jamia Sue Williams (Mother) dissolved their marriage and agreed to a joint custody arrangement for their four minor children, ranging in age from 10 to 3 years. Mother remarried and moved from Santa Barbara to Utah. She requested that the parties’ joint child custody agreement be modified so the children could live in Utah with her. Father objected. The family law court ordered that the eldest and *810 youngest children could move to Utah with Mother, while the middle children were to remain in Santa Barbara with Father. Father contends the family law court abused its discretion because it separated siblings from each other. We conclude that the family law court abused its discretion because the record does not show compelling circumstances warranting the separation of the siblings. Accordingly, we reverse.