Child custody; Sole legal custody; Child Custody Act; Review of custody orders; MCL 722.28; Proper cause or change of circumstances; Merecki v Merecki; Written orders; In re Contempt of Henry; Insufficient record; Rittershaus v Rittershaus

The court held that the record was insufficient to determine whether the trial court properly denied plaintiff’s motion for sole legal custody. Plaintiff sought sole legal custody and an order switching the child from homeschooling to public school, alleging repeated educational and medical disputes that required counsel or court involvement. The trial court orally denied the custody motion for lack of proper cause or changed circumstances, but did not issue a written order until eight months later, after additional school-choice, academic-testing, and medical disputes had occurred. On appeal, the court emphasized that a trial court “speaks through its written orders and judgments,” not its oral rulings. It held that the timing created uncertainty because the written order relied on the earlier oral ruling, and it was unclear whether the trial court reviewed later motions and hearings that “may have caused delays and had a detrimental effect on the child’s well-being.” Because the court could not determine “what findings of facts the trial court made” or what evidence supported them, it vacated the custody order and remanded for a new decision. Vacated and remanded.