## Facts

- Cathy A. Temos (mother) and Glenn Temos (father) married in 1973 and had two children: Jessica (born 1975) and Andrew (born 1976).
- The family lived in Bath, Pennsylvania; the father’s construction work often required extended travel, and the mother worked as an operating room technician.
- In 1979, the mother sought a divorce and later moved with the children to an apartment in Allentown while the father worked overseas.
- In May 1980, the parties executed a separation and property settlement agreement that referenced the father having “permanent custody” and the mother “temporary custody,” though the children had largely been cared for by the mother.
- The parents divorced in July 1980; the father moved into the Bath home with his future wife and her children.
- The children had spent most of their lives with the mother and were doing well in her care.
- In subsequent custody litigation, the trial court awarded custody to the father, relying on the mother’s relationship with a married man (who was Black), alleged questionable financial transactions, and the mother’s increased work and reliance on babysitters.

## Issues

1. Whether a custody change to the father was proper when based on the mother’s relationship with a married man, alleged financial improprieties, and her employment and use of babysitters, without evidence of adverse impact on the children.
2. Whether the trial court erred by treating the race of the mother’s partner as a factor supporting a custody change.
3. Whether the children’s best interests favored continuity of custody with the mother where the children were thriving under her care.

## Decision

- The Superior Court of Pennsylvania reversed the custody order awarding custody to the father.
- The court held that the cited factors did not justify a custody change because the record did not show adverse effects on the children.
- The court rejected consideration of racial difference as a custody factor.
- The court concluded the children’s best interests were served by continuing custody with the mother.

## Legal Principles

- Custody decisions must be governed by the children’s best interests, considering all relevant circumstances affecting their welfare.
- A parent’s personal relationship or moral choices cannot support a custody change absent proof of actual or likely harm to the children.
- A parent’s employment outside the home and use of babysitters, without evidence of detriment to the children, is not a basis for changing custody.
- Race, including the race of a parent’s partner or interracial associations, is not a permissible negative factor in custody determinations.
- Where children have primarily lived with one parent and are doing well, continuity and stability weigh against changing custody without a demonstrated need.

## Conclusion

The Superior Court reversed the transfer of custody to the father because the trial court relied on improper and unsupported considerations—including racial difference and the mother’s employment—without evidence that these matters harmed the children, and the children’s best interests favored continuing custody with the mother.


In re Custody of Temos, 450 A.2d 111 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1982)