Sacklow v. Betts

163 A.3d 367 (2017)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

P and Betts (D) were married on September 22, 1996, and divorced on June 8, 2011. There was one child born of the marriage, Veronica. The parties share joint legal custody. P claims that Trevor did not like the 'typical girl toys, did not play with dolls, and absolutely hated wearing dresses' but he 'loved to play baseball and basketball, skateboard, and rollerblade.' When Trevor entered the sixth grade the parties began to notice a change in his behavior. By this time, Trevor had completed puberty and P noticed that his overall mental health and well-being had begun to decline. Trevor went from being a good student and never getting into trouble to 'getting bad grades, lying, vandalizing school property, and fighting.' P consulted with William Bishop, L.C.S.W. regarding the change in Trevor's behavior. Trevor began to see Bishop to work through his emotional and behavioral problems and in June of 2012, with the help of Bishop, Trevor announced to his family that he was transgender and that he identified as male. Upon the recommendation of Bishop, Trevor began to see Dr. Nina Williams, a licensed psychologist, who diagnosed him with gender dysphoria. Trevor is treated by a variety of medical professionals who have established a treatment plan for Trevor to begin the physical and mental transition from female to male. Five years ago, when Trevor was twelve, he requested that he be called Trevor, not Veronica. Trevor testified that he feels that the name better represents who he is and the gender with which he identifies. The parties took Trevor to D's chosen expert in New Hampshire and then to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (hereinafter CHOP). With both parties' consent, Trevor began receiving hormone treatments at CHOP to suppress menstruation in 2014. Recently, in July of 2016, with consultation with his doctors at CHOP and the consent of both parties, Trevor began testosterone therapy. P requested that the court change the parties' child's name from Veronica to Trevor. P certified that the name change was in the child's best interest because the parties' child is transgender, identifies as male and has been undergoing treatment for gender dysphoria. D filed an answer requesting that the court deny P's request. D argued that a hearing was necessary in order for the court to determine if the name change was in the child's best interest. After a hearing, D indicated his willingness to consent to the name change of the parties' child, yet continued to express his concern over whether it was in Trevor's best interest.