Jayne v. Dennison
Cases that cite this one
8 later published cases cite this decision.
- McIntyre v. McIntyre (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1984)
- Shaw v. Shaw (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1984)
- Weston v. Weston (Florida Circuit Courts 1982)
- Rosenthal v. Rosenthal (Florida Circuit Courts 1981)
- Stricklin v. Stricklin (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1980)
- Taylor v. Schilt (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1974)
- Gregory v. Gregory (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1974)
- Niles v. Niles (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1974)
This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.
Opinion
Frances Sharon JAYNE, Formerly Frances Sharon Dennison, Appellant,
v.
Calvin B. DENNISON, Appellee.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.
*238 J. Thomas Wright, of Herce, Martinez & Associate, Tampa, for appellant.
Donald C. Evans and J. Ronald Wigginton, Tampa, for appellee.
COWART, JOE A., Jr., Associate Judge.
The appellant claims that every order changing custody must include a finding that the prior custodian is unfit. This is not correct. There need only be a substantial, material change of circumstances that strongly infers a change of custody would promote the welfare of the child. Negative factors in the mother's circumstances, short of unfitness, when coupled with intervening special needs of the child and increased ability of the father to provide for the child may be sufficient to justify a change. While unfitness is entitled to much weight, and is a factor often noted in the cases, it is not an absolute prerequisite to a change.
The appealed order is Affirmed.
MANN, C.J., and BOARDMAN, J., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.