Spires v. Lance

Shulman, Chief Judge.

This case involves a custody contest between a natural father and a stepfather after the death of the child’s mother. Appellant’s former wife had legal custody of their son at the time of her death. On the day after the child’s mother died, his stepfather, joined by the mother’s sister and brother-in-law, filed a petition in the Superior Court of Monroe County, seeking an award of custody to the stepfather. Appellant, the natural father, contested the petition and appeared for a hearing on his motion to dismiss based on jurisdictional grounds. Appellant argued that since…