## Facts

- Kristen L. (mother) and Benjamin W. (father) divorced in 2012 and were awarded joint legal custody of their two children, with Kristen receiving primary physical custody.
- Benjamin, an active-duty Air Force member stationed in California, exercised parenting time through scheduled contact (including video calls) and extended visitation periods.
- The younger child was born male but identified as female and engaged in feminine gender expression, including wearing girls’ clothing, makeup, and playing with dolls.
- Benjamin was more accepting of the younger child’s gender expression than Kristen, who expressed strong concern and took a more negative approach.
- During a visitation period, Benjamin observed bruising on the younger child. The children told Benjamin the bruises resulted from Kristen’s violent conduct.
- Benjamin sought counseling for the children. The children’s counselor testified that the children reported Kristen frequently physically abused them.
- After an evidentiary hearing, the superior court found the counselor and Benjamin more credible than Kristen and her witnesses.
- The superior court found, by clear and convincing evidence, that Kristen committed domestic violence against the children and that her treatment of the younger child’s gender expression caused emotional harm.
- The superior court concluded these developments since the divorce decree amounted to a substantial change in circumstances and modified custody by awarding Benjamin sole legal custody and primary physical custody, with Kristen limited to supervised visitation.
- Kristen appealed, challenging the superior court’s threshold finding that there had been a substantial change in circumstances affecting the children.

## Issues

1. Did the superior court err in concluding that a substantial change in circumstances affecting the children occurred after the original custody order, permitting modification of custody?

## Decision

- The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the custody modification order.
- The Court held the superior court did not abuse its discretion in finding a substantial change in circumstances.
- The Court held the superior court’s factual findings—especially its domestic violence findings—were supported by the record and were not clearly erroneous.
- The Court declined to reweigh the evidence and deferred to the superior court’s credibility determinations.

## Legal Principles

- A court may modify a custody order only after finding a substantial change in circumstances since the prior order; only then does the court reach the child’s best interests analysis. (AS 25.20.110)
- Domestic violence is a major factor in custody decisions under Alaska law, and a finding of a history of domestic violence triggers a rebuttable presumption against awarding custody to the perpetrator. (AS 25.24.150(g))
- On appeal, the Alaska Supreme Court reviews the substantial-change determination for abuse of discretion and reviews factual findings for clear error.
- Appellate courts give strong deference to the trial court’s credibility determinations and do not retry facts or reweigh conflicting testimony.
- Evidence that a parent’s conduct causes physical harm (such as bruising) or emotional harm to a child may support both a domestic violence finding and a substantial-change finding in custody modification proceedings.

## Conclusion

The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the superior court’s order transferring sole legal and primary physical custody from Kristen to Benjamin because credible evidence supported findings that Kristen committed domestic violence and caused emotional harm related to the younger child’s female gender identity, which together constituted a substantial change in circumstances justifying custody modification and supervised visitation.


Kristen L. v. Benjamin W., 2014 WL 2716842 (2014)