E. Llana Nakonechny

Application for custody and child support regarding Connor Heuer, born May 19, 2007.

The applicant mother sought sole custody, child support, travel document authority, and restrictions on communication with the respondent father.

The respondent father sought sole custody or, in the alternative, joint custody with shared residence.

The court found that joint custody and parallel parenting arrangements were not viable due to high parental conflict, poor communication, and the applicant's ongoing struggles with prescription drug abuse and mental health issues.

The court awarded sole custody to the respondent father, with the applicant receiving access every other weekend and specified holiday periods.

The respondent was ordered to consult with the applicant on major decisions affecting the child's health, education, religion, and upbringing.

The respondent father brought a motion to set aside an ex parte order that struck his pleadings for failing to provide financial disclosure and pay child support.

The court found that the previous judge only intended to strike pleadings related to financial issues, not parenting issues, making the broad order an error.

Applying the test for setting aside a default judgment, the court found the father had a plausible explanation for his default and an arguable case.

The court set aside the order in its entirety, granted brief periods of unsupervised access, and temporarily suspended child support enforcement to allow the father to stabilize his finances and pay for supervised access.