Wathen v. Wathen

Per Curiam. This is an appeal from a decree by Judge Samuel W. H. Meloy of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, which awarded custody of the four children of the marriage of Marie B. Wathen, appellant, and Oscar N. Wathen, appellee, to the father. Appellant conceded custody of Patricia, twenty, and John, eighteen, because of their ages and personal preferences. Michael, fourteen, and James Andrew, nine, are the subjects of this dispute.

The chancellor also denied appellant’s petition for separate maintenance and appellee’s bill of complaint for divorce a mensa et thoro. There is no allegation of adultery or other immoral conduct on the part of either party. The division of the family was ⁶⁸⁶ brought about by emotional and psychological disturbances, which eventually led to an attempted suicide by the wife and to an inability on the part of the husband to perform efficiently his job as a service foreman. The parties attempted to solve their problems by consulting a marriage counselor and a psychiatrist.

Because they were unable to resolve their difficulties, the husband moved out of the home with the younger children and went to his mother’s home. Since the separation, the attitude of the young children toward their school work and their general deportment have improved considerably. The health of the husband and of the wife has improved. The question of the children’s custody is governed by Kline v. Bennett, 245 Md. 674 , 225 A. 2d 863 ; Cornwell v. Cornwell, 244 Md. 674 , 224 A. 2d 870 ; Heaver v. Bradley, 244 Md. 233 , 223 A. 2d 568 ; Raible v. Raible, 242 Md. 586 , 219 A. 2d 777 .

In those cases, we held that because the opportunity of the chancellor to see and hear the witnesses must be accorded the greatest respect, we would not disturb his findings unless he was •clearly erroneous. There is ample evidence in the record to support the chancellor’s finding that the custody