Child Custody • Relocation • Section 5337 • Prior Approval • Sanction

J.M v. K. W., PICS Case No. 17-0958 (Pa. Super. May 31, 2017) Bowes, J. (22 pages).

Trial court properly found mother in contempt for relocating with the children in contravention of an order directing compliance with §5337 but trial court erred in finding her in contempt for enrolling child in preschool because there had been no legal determination of custody and abused its discretion in changing custody as a contempt sanction because there was no express notice that custody would be at issue. Affirmed in part and reversed in part.

The parties separated, father filed a custody complaint and the parties entered a stipulated custody agreement giving mother primary physical custody pending the custody trial. The trial court entered several orders including an order that prohibited relocation without prior court approval. Mother filed a counterclaim to the custody complaint and issued notice of her proposed relocation to another county one-and-one-half hours away. Father filed a counter affidavit objecting to the relocation and mother relocated without obtaining the court's authorization under §5337. Father filed a petition for special relief and contempt and showed that mother relocated without prior court approval and had enrolled one child in preschool without father's knowledge or consent. The trial court found mother in contempt and as a sanction, reduced her custodial rights from primary physical custody to shared custody. Mother appealed.