Joseph Meadors v. Sonya Danielle Shrum

This case involves a petition to modify visitation. The mother and father were divorced in January 1999. By agreement, the mother was granted custody of the parties' minor child, and the father was given visitation. The divorce decree provided that the father's visitation schedule would change from week to week depending on father's fluctuating work schedule in his job as an emergency medical technician. This schedule necessitated repeated negotiating between the mother and the father to agree on the father's visitation schedule. In April 2001, the father petitioned the court for "standard" every-other-weekend visitation, without regard to his work schedule, in order to end the parties' pattern of negotiating and bickering. The trial court determined that the parties were unable to work together amicably, and ordered "standard" every-other-weekend visitation in order to minimize the interaction between the parties. The mother now appeals. We affirm, finding that the parties' inability to implement amicably the ordered visitation arrangement constituted a sufficient change in circumstances to warrant the slight modification in visitation.