How important are the child’s wishes and feelings in private children law matters?
18 February 2025
In private children legal proceedings, the Court will try to ascertain the children’s wishes and feelings before delivering a judgement. The recent case of Mother v Father [2024] EWFC 252 (B) considered the appropriate weight to be given to the children’s wishes and feelings in court proceedings.
Background
To fully understand the reasoning behind this judgement,it is important to understand the facts of the case. This matter had been considered by the Courts previously. In 2016, the relevant Local Authority had made an application to remove the children from their Mother’s care, following which they were transferred to the care of their father.. Under their Mother’s care, it was reported that the children were exposed to a very chaotic lifestyle, including emotional abuse and volatility from their Mother. Despite the children’s removal, direct contact was initially ordered to be maintained, though this contract ceased by August 2016.
It is important to note that throughout these proceedings the Mother was suffering with her mental health which had unfortunately affected her ability to care for and maintain regular contact with the children.
In 2017, the mother made an application under private children law in order to regain contact with the children. At the Final Hearing it was recommended that the mother would have direct contact with the children every other month, letterbox contact twice a year, and a monthly call.
Following this the Local Authority arranged for supervised contact to take place. The three eldest children refused to attend, however the youngest child, two years old at the time, attended.
The Mother’s lack of engagement with the Court following her application in 2017 lead to the Court’s dismissal of her application in 2019.
On 14th July 2022, the Mother made a further application to obtain a ‘spend time with order’. During these proceedings the Mother was ordered to provide the Court with medical evidence of any diagnosis and treatment plans that she was required to engage with. However, the Mother’s frequent travel around the country and subsequent changes to her GP surgeries made it difficult for the Court to understand the full extent of her mental health issues. In July 2024, the Court was informed that the Mother had been diagnosed with PTSD.
The Mother’s mental health struggles prevented her from maintaining consistent and predictable contact with the children. This caused the relationship between the Mother and the children to become rather fragmented.
Throughout this time the children had a very settled home life with their father. They were home schooled and engaged in a range of stimulating activities.
Views of the children
The children had a chance to express their wishes and feelings in evidence during the proceedings. One of the children expressed that they were concerned to have contact with their mother as “mummy was not very nice the last time we saw her”. Another one of the children expressed that they wished their mother would “stop disturbing their peace”, “dragging them through proceedings” and he also felt angry with his mother for “bothering” him.
Judgment
Due to the “forceful and negative” views of the children the Judge felt that it would be detrimental to the children, and to their relationship with their Mother, to force them to have direct contact.
Therefore, having considered the children’s wishes and feelings, professional opinions, and all other evidence provided by both parties, the Judge decided that indirect contact would be a more suitable starting point.
Conclusion
This case made it apparent that the Court does give some weight to the children’s wishes and feelings in private children proceedings. However, it is important to note that this is dependant on their age and the specific facts of the case.
If you require legal advice on private children law matters, please do contact Redkite’s Family team, and we will be happy to assist you.
This article was written by Redkite Solicitors, Alivia McClung. To find out more about Alivia and the support that she can provide to you, visit her website profile here: https://www.redkitesolicitors.co.uk/team/alivia-mcclung/https://www.redkitesolicitors.co.uk/team/alivia-mcclung/
The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.