Bruegman v. Bruegman

A few months after the birth of their first child, Holly Bruegman (plaintiff) and Colton Bruegman (defendant) started experiencing marital difficulties, and Holly left the marital home. After an unsuccessful reconciliation attempt, Holly filed for divorce. The divorce necessitated a custody determination regarding the spouses’ two-year-old son. At the time, the spouses were living in separate cities about an hour apart. Both spouses spent time with their son and encouraged his relationship with the other spouse. The spouses regularly communicated about the child, jointly spent time with him on special occasions, and allowed each other to visit him in each other’s homes. The child had developmental delays that required specialized instruction. However, the federally subsidized preschool programs in both cities developed an individualized education program for the child and agreed that the same instruction could be provided in either location if a custody arrangement required him to switch between centers. At trial, Holly produced three videos of fights between herself and Colton. However, neither the videos nor other evidence demonstrated spousal abuse or a loss of temper toward the child. Considering all the circumstances, the district court concluded that both parents were competent and willing to accept parental responsibility, and that continuing to spend substantial time with each parent was in the child’s best interests. Consequently, in conjunction with the divorce decree, the district court ordered joint physical and legal custody of the child, with each parent to have custody for alternating two-week periods. Holly appealed the custody order, arguing that joint custody should have been presumed to be against the child’s best interests.