Bender v. Bender

SPAETH, Judge:

After having once awarded custody of a now six year old girl, Heather, to her father, the lower court then awarded custody to her mother. We reverse and remand for both procedural and substantive reasons. As a matter of procedure: the lower court made the change in custody on the basis of evidence not in the record; also, we do not have the comprehensive opinion that we must have in a custody case. As a matter of substance: the evidence that is of record strongly suggests that the court’s earlier award of custody to the father was in Heather’s best interest.

It is settled that…