Talbot v. Talbot

1. Parent and child ? Courts power to direct custody in mother and care of child to grandmother upheld. Where custody of parties minor child was awarded to divorced wife and wife was directed to leave the child with her mother as her agent, the husbands complaint that the child was taken from him and awarded to divorced wifes mother without showing that he was unfit to have custody, was without merit. 2. Divorce ? Venue ? Establishing residence. A wife may under some circumstances have a separate residence or domicile from that of her husband as respects laying of venue for bringing of divorce action, and hence where the wife thought it desirable to seek employment in the State of Washington and actually resided there for more than three years before bringing divorce action and stated that it was her purpose not to return to Montana, evidence established that wife was a bona fide resident of the state of Washington when the divorce action was commenced. 3. Divorce ? Granting custody of child not within courts jurisdiction upheld. Where Washington court had jurisdiction of husband and wife in divorce action and the parties had entered into an agreement providing that the wife should have custody of parties minor child, the Washington court had jurisdiction on granting wife a divorce to award custody of child to her, notwithstanding child was then absent from the state of Washington. 4. Divorce ? Rule on awarding custody of child absent from jurisdiction flexible. The rule that a court in a divorce action will never award custody of a child who at the time of the adjudication is physically without the jurisdiction of the court is not inflexible. 5. Divorce ? Agreement ? Duty to repudiate. Where husband signs agreement providing the wife should have custody of child and later learned that he was coerced and that the mother was not fit person it was his duty to repudiate agreement in court where agreement was used. 6. Parent and child ? Award of custody in mother upheld. Trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding custody of - Page 168 parties minor child to divorced mother, although the father was fit and proper person to have its custody, where mother had custody of child through her mother as agent since the birth of the child, in absence of a showing that the mother was not a proper person to have custody of the child.