Bluestein v. Bluestein
Annotate this CaseIn this child custody case, the parties entered into an agreement for joint custody at the time of their divorce. Seven years later, Mother requested that the district court modify the child custody designation to provide her with primary physical custody, in accordance with Rivero v. Rivero. Specifically, Mother argued that she was entitled to be the child’s primary physical guardian because Father did not have the child at least forty percent of the time under the agreed custodial arrangement. After a hearing, the district court granted the request. The court’s order, however, did not state whether this modification was in the child’s best interest. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) a district court has authority to review and modify the parties’ timeshare arrangement once a modification request is made by either party; (2) the child’s best interest must be the primary consideration for modifying custody, and Rivero’s forty-percent guideline shall serve as a tool in determining what custody arrangement is in the child’s best interest; and (3) the district court abused its discretion in failing to consider the child’s best interest when modifying custody.
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