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LJN NewslettersNewsSectionsThe Matrimonial Strategist

Mother Loses Custody after Tour in Iraq

BY Joel Stashenko
April 28, 2008

A New York appellate court affirmed a family court ruling that granted primary physical custody of a child to his father after the mother went through a period of absence and upheaval starting with her tour of duty in Iraq.

Tanya Towne's stint in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 was validly considered as part of a sequence of events that resulted in her former husband, Richard S. Diffin Jr., gaining primary physical custody of their son, an Appellate Division, Third Department, panel concluded in January. 'The fact remains that the mother was deployed and, while we do not hold that her deployment in and of itself constitutes a significant change in circumstances, we must consider the consequences of her extended absence in determining whether such a change exists,' Presiding Justice Anthony V. Cardona wrote for the unanimous court in Diffin v. Towne, 502429.

Before her deployment by the Army National Guard, Ms. Towne had primary physical custody of the son, Derrell, who was born in 1995. Ms. Towne and the boy were living at the home of Ms. Towne's second husband, Jason Towne, with whom she had had a second son. Ms. Towne wanted Derrell to live with Mr. Towne and her other son, but Mr. Diffin secured a temporary custody order to have Derrell live with him in Virginia while Ms. Towne was in Iraq.

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