By Madison Marshall, Law Clerk
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January 28, 2025
Jill E. O’Sullivan, an attorney with Flink Maswick Law PLLC, successfully moved to dismiss a petition brought against our client in Family Court, seeking modification of an order of custody based upon a settlement agreement reached in the client’s divorce action, which had been incorporated into their Judgment of Divorce. Our client, the mother of the children, has primary physical custody. She moved with the children in order to take a new job, which would provide her and the children with more financial stability. The father of the children objected and filed the petition, seeking to modify the parties’ custody agreement, alleging the mother’s relocation was a change of circumstances warranting a modification of custody. O’Sullivan successfully argued that the relocation did not constitute a change in circumstances, since the parties had contemplated such a change in residence by the mother and their settlement agreement explicitly addressed the issue, providing that our client could move up to 120 miles, and the client’s new residence was within that distance. The Court granted the motion to dismiss the petition in its entirety, without a hearing, and awarded our client reasonable attorneys’ fees. If you require assistance with a matter involving child custody, call our office at (518) 523-2441 to speak with a family law attorney.