William A. Carcieri, Jr. - Page 7




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          object, stating that Amanda lived with her mother for the years             
          1996 through 1999.                                                          
               Upon the completion of Ms. Macera’s testimony, this Court              
          afforded petitioner the opportunity to cross-examine her about              
          her testimony.  Petitioner, however, stated: “Your Honor, I have            
          no questions”, choosing not to question Ms. Macera about her                
          contradictory testimony.  Petitioner’s failure to question Ms.              
          Macera’s testimony leads the Court to conclude that Amanda spent            
          little time residing at petitioner’s home and most of her time at           
          her mother’s house.  Even if we relied solely on petitioner’s               
          testimony, we would nonetheless find that petitioner did not have           
          custody of Amanda for a portion of the year greater than that of            
          Ms. Macera.                                                                 
               Petitioner's situation falls squarely within the general               
          rule that the parent with custody of a child for the greater part           
          of the year is treated as having provided over half of that                 
          child's support for the year.  Petitioner’s testimony proves that           
          he had custody of Amanda for a period of time shorter than that             
          of Ms. Macera.  Furthermore, Ms. Macera’s testimony that she had            
          custody of Amanda for the entire year remains uncontroverted.               
          Consequently, we find that petitioner did not have custody of               
          Amanda for the greater portion of the calendar year 1998.                   










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