Should Your Ex be Responsible for Promoting Contact with Your Child

The Senior Judge of the Family Division Sir James Munby has sent out a reminder to separated parents that it is their obligation to encourage contact with the non-resident parent?

In Re H-B (Contact) the court heard that contact between a father and his daughters had stopped in 2008 following an incident between the father’s new wife and child, since then only indirect contact had taken place. In the court of first instance came to a verdict that indirect contact should continue, and the father appealed against the refusal of his application for direct contact. Both parents in this case were criticised for their inflexibility, both being described as behaving in a manners that was ‘destructive’ to the prospects of contact.

Notably, although the father’s behavior was described as ‘unwise’ the court also felt that the lack of support from the mother for direct contact and her failure to support the children’s therapy was inexcusable.

The court heard that children are often faced with things that they don’t want to do, like going to the dentist, or going to visit some ‘boring’ elderly relative, going to school, doing homework etc.  The job of the Parent is to get the child to do what it does not want to do.

Sir James Munby went on to say that ‘It is simply too dreadful to imagine a future.. where both parents are estranged from their children, cut off from their grandchildren, and where they are left with nothing but regrets and remorse’

Are you affected by Parental Alienation, are you subject to an indirect contact only order, are you having trouble with child arrangements? (Formerly referred to as both contact or access)? Do you wish to make an application to set that order aside in the light of the judgement of Re H-B (Contact) above? Email [email protected] to discuss your options.

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April 27, 2015

Children Disputes

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