McIntosh v. McIntosh

Mr. and Ms. McIntosh divorced roughly a year after the birth of their son Jordan, with an initial order granting Mr. McIntosh sole custody quickly replaced by a consent order for equal physical custody; the arrangement broke down so badly the parents had to exchange Jordan at a police station. A court-appointed neutral psychologist recommended the parents share joint legal and physical custody, but at trial Ms. McIntosh presented evidence that Mr. McIntosh had a history of alcohol use, had withheld Jordan from her without cause, and had once been violent in the home. Weighing the statutory best-interest factors, the trial court declined to follow the psychologist's joint-custody recommendation and instead awarded Ms. McIntosh sole legal and physical custody; Mr. McIntosh appealed.