Relationship Breakdowns
23rd Jun 2009
We live in a world where relationships break down more often than they used to and where parents are for a variety of reasons, varying from economic to lifestyle, moving to different parts of the world. This often means that the parents are in conflict because the primary carer wishes to move abroad and to take the children. Emotions on all sides are understandably high. The parent who wishes to move often sees the other parent’s opposition as an attempt to prevent them from starting a new life. On the other side, the parent who is remaining often takes the view that the wish to take the children to another country is an attempt to break that parent’s contact with them.
The courts have a difficult task and they approach such cases by applying a number of tests:-
1. The welfare of the child is paramount.
2. There is no presumption in favour of the parent wishing to go abroad, but the reasonable proposals of the parent wishing to move must be given considerable weight.
3. The court has to be satisfied as to the true intention for the move and that it is not an attempt to stop the other parent having contact.
4. The effect on the applicant parent if the application is refused and the effect on the other parent if granted.
5. If the application is granted, how can contact with the other parent be maintained?
6. The impact on the child’s step parent is also taken into account.
7. The proposal has to be properly thought through.
As is so often the case, the court has to balance these factors and the most important of these is the welfare of the child. The court can, if it is thinking of making an order allowing the child to go abroad, order the applicant parent to return the child to England on a regular basis, so that contact can take place.
Thankfully annual foreign holidays do not normally cause similar problems because the parents are happy that their child is experiencing a foreign holiday. In situations where a parent has a residence order then that person is allowed to take the child abroad for up to one month for a holiday in any event, subject to any order of the court. If however the parent wishes to take the child away for longer then the consent of all of the persons with parental responsible is required, or the court’s consent.
The other major problem concerning taking children abroad on holiday is where it is proposed to take the child to what is called a non-Hague convention country. These are countries which simply do not automatically send back a child who is there, when asked to do so by the English courts. In these cases, if a parent is concerned that the child will not be brought back, the parent wishing to take the child has to satisfy the court that the child will be returned. The court inevitably does everything possible to put in place substantial safeguards if it comes to the initial conclusion that it is in the best interests of the child to go on holiday to that country.
Author: Richard Deas, Consultant (RichardD@bhplaw.co.uk)
Related Articles
| Arrival of John Robertson | 7th Dec 2009 |
|---|---|
| Civil Partnership Resolution | 4th Oct 2008 |
| New mediation company helps resolve family disputes | 28th Jul 2008 |
| Dealing with domestic violence | 2nd Oct 2007 |
| Fathers rights still in the limelight | 4th Apr 2006 |
