This Mother Won Back Full Custody of Her Child – What She Did to Prevail Against the Father’s Appeal

Tina Urban had originally lost full child custody of her daughter Brittany when the court awarded joint legal custody to Tina and her ex-husband Garet Urban, with Garet having primary physical custody.

Tina and Garet Urban’s custody fight began after their divorce in January 2020. The initial divorce decree granted Tina sole legal and physical custody of Brittany, their minor child.

It also ordered Garet to pay child support and gave him alternating weekend and holiday visitation rights.

But the custody arrangement was thrown into turmoil when Garet filed a petition in March 2021 seeking to modify custody.

After a hearing on Garet’s petition, the shock decision came down – the court awarded joint legal custody to Tina and Garet, with Garet having primary physical custody of Brittany.

For Tina, this meant her worst nightmare. Her daughter would now be living with her father instead of her.

As the mother who had raised Brittany since birth, Tina was distraught at the thought of losing physical custody.

But she refused to go down without a fight. . .

Immediately after the ruling, Tina took action by filing a motion to reconsider.

She brought her motion under Rule 59(e) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. This allowed her to ask the court to alter or amend its judgment.

In the motion, Tina pointed out that the court had made a clear error of law when modifying custody.

She asserted that Garet had failed to demonstrate a “material change in circumstances” that would adversely impact Brittany’s welfare.

This is the legal prerequisite that must be satisfied before child custody can be modified.

Tina argued that without proving this material change, there were no legal grounds for the court to overturn the original sole custody arrangement.

Essentially, she claimed the judge failed to follow proper protocol when making a custody modification of this magnitude.

When a Mississippi court modifies child custody, the judge must find a material change in circumstances that negatively affects the child.

Only after identifying such a detrimental change can the court move forward to weigh the applicable “Albright factors” and determine if a custody modification is actually in the child’s best interest.

The Appeals Court said, “The chancellor clearly cured his own legal error by revising the modification order and returning sole legal and physical custody of Brittany to Tina as it was in the divorce decree. There is no evidence in the record to show that a modification of custody was warranted.”

Tina Urban can finally relax knowing her child custody nightmare is over. After a gut-wrenching legal battle, she has regained sole physical and legal custody of her daughter.

Her ex-husband Garet made a last-ditch attempt to retain custody by filing a desperate appeal. But his arguments fell flat. The appeals court dismantled his claims one-by-one in a crushing defeat.

Judges Hate Making These Costly Mistakes That Get Reversed on Appeal For Child Custody

Garet tried insisting the lower court judge erred by granting Tina’s motion to reconsider the initial ruling.

But the appeals court wasn’t buying it.

They ruled the judge properly acted to FIX his own blunder and restore full custody to Tina.

Judges despise making errors that get overturned on appeal – it can damage their reputation.

How This Mother Shut Down Every Argument Her Ex Tried to Make to Get Child Custody

The appeals court also rejected Garet’s other feeble arguments about bias and hearsay.

Nothing worked.

He couldn’t wriggle out of accepting defeat.

Tina is beyond relieved to have her daughter back home permanently after this draining legal fight.

3 Key Lessons Mothers Can Learn From This Mom’s Child Custody Win

Mothers battling for custody can learn vital lessons from Tina’s victory:

1. Don’t give up if the initial ruling goes against you. Instead, file a motion to reconsider.
2. Leverage Rule 59(e) to highlight errors in the judge’s decision. Tina didn’t sit back in defeat after losing custody initially. She took action by filing a Rule 59(e) motion asking the court to revisit its clearly flawed ruling. Mothers should remember this powerful procedural option. If the court makes a mistake that unjustly separates you from your child, filing a reconsideration motion can help get the error corrected.
3. Persist until justice is served and your rights as a mother are validated. Even after multiple defeats, Tina persevered in her quest to regain custody. Her determination paid off in the end.

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