Also known as: keepers · custodian
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A person who has custody or control over a child. The role requires responsibility for day-to-day care of the child.
A person who has custody or control over records. The role requires responsibility for maintenance of the records.
A person who has custody or control over a child. The role requires responsibility for day-to-day care of the child.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A person who has custody or control over records. The role requires responsibility for maintenance of the records.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Karen Keller stayed home to care for her child with severe asthma after the divorce. The court found she qualified as the child's keeper because the child's medical needs made outside employment inappropriate. This status allowed the court to award maintenance under the statute.
Kai Kwon received the marital home but little other property after dissolution. As keeper of the couple's young child he could not work full time. The court considered his custodial role when calculating the resources available to meet his needs.
Kristopher Kurtz sought primary custody of his daughter after the parents separated. The court evaluated him as the proposed keeper and weighed the child's wishes along with the parents' preferences. Conduct unrelated to his parenting relationship was disregarded.
Kimberly Knox petitioned to change the existing custody order two years after entry. She showed changed circumstances affecting the child and the current keeper. The court refused modification because no statutory ground for altering the prior decree was met.
Kaito Kato asked the court to modify custody so his son could live with him. The child had lived with Kaito for over a year with the prior keeper's consent. The court found the child integrated into Kaito's family and granted the modification.
The custodian role satisfies one statutory threshold for maintenance when the child's condition makes outside employment inappropriate. The court then weighs the custodian's financial resources and the child's needs when setting the amount and duration.
Supporting sources
Modification requires a change in circumstances of the child or custodian since the prior decree plus a finding that modification serves the child's best interest. The court retains the original custodian unless one of the listed statutory grounds is shown.
Supporting sources
Kite Finance offered its loan ledgers at trial. The records clerk testified that she served as keeper of the files and confirmed they were made in the ordinary course of business. The court admitted the records after the testimony satisfied the certification requirement.
A qualified witness must show familiarity with how the records are created and maintained. The witness need not be the formal custodian if the testimony establishes the records were made in the ordinary course of business.
Supporting sources
…The Secretary acts in two capacities; as agent of the President, he is not liable to a mandamus; but as recorder of the laws, keeper of the great seal, recorder of letters patent and commissions he is a ministerial officer of the people and is compellable to do his duty. If a mandamus can be awarded by this court in any…