Dolan v. Dolan

Citations

• 211 Conn. App. 390

Syllabus

The defendant, whose marriage to the plaintiff previously had been dis- solved, appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court granting the plaintiff's motions for modification and appellate attorney's fees. The parties had one minor child together. At the time of the dissolu- tion, the plaintiff lived in West Hartford and the defendant lived in Andover, Massachusetts. Incorporated into the judgment of dissolution was a separation agreement which provided that, following the comple- tion of the child's 2018-2019 academic year, the plaintiff would relocate to an area within one hour from her place of employment in Hartford, and that the defendant would make efforts to explore relocation to an area in Massachusetts such that the parties were to be within thirty minutes of each other. Subsequently, the plaintiff filed a motion for modification alleging a change in circumstances in her employment, namely, that she received a promotion and that she would no longer be able to relocate and maintain her employment. She requested that she and the minor child be permitted to remain residing in West Hartford. Following a hearing, the court granted the plaintiff's motion, and the defendant appealed to this court. The trial court then granted the plain- tiff's motion for attorney's fees to defend the appeal and the defendant amended his appeal. Held: 1. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting the plaintiff's motion for modification, as the plaintiff's promotion represented a substantial change in circumstances that warranted modification of the parties' dissolution agreement with respect to parenting access and location: the court credited the testimony of the plaintiff regarding her promotion, which provided her an increase in salary and provided potential career growth, but no longer allowed her to work remotely on a routine basis and relocate to Massachusetts as the parties originally intended, and that she had looked into employment elsewhere, b