LEWIS & LEWIS

The case of Lewis & Lewis involved parenting and spousal maintenance proceedings between Mr. Lewis (the father) and Ms. Lewis (the mother) concerning their three children: X, Y, and Z. The mother sought orders for the children to live with her and for them to spend no time with the father. The father sought equal shared responsibility for two of the three children. Serious allegations of family violence were made, and the eldest child, X, presented with severe mental health issues, including suicidal and homicidal ideation directed towards the father, and had threatened self-harm or harm to his younger sisters if they were to spend time with him. The mother also sought spousal maintenance.

The court was required to determine several legal issues. Primarily, it needed to consider whether to await the release of a single expert family report before making further decisions regarding the younger sisters, Y and Z, spending time with their father, given the severe mental health issues and threats made by their elder brother, X. Additionally, the court had to address the mother's claim for spousal maintenance, considering the parties' financial positions post-sale of their former matrimonial home, the mother's lack of present income due to childcare responsibilities, and the father's contention that he lacked the capacity to pay maintenance despite having a higher income but also higher expenses.

In relation to parenting, the court ordered that X live with the mother according to his wishes, and that Y and Z also live with the mother. The father was permitted to have communication with Y and Z via email up to three times per week, with specific restrictions on discussing X or the mother, and prohibitions against denigrating the mother or X. Both parents were restrained from discussing the proceedings or denigrating each other in the presence or hearing of the children. The court also made orders regarding the father's ability to contact the school of Y and Z and attend school events, with strict conditions to avoid interaction with the mother and to comply with school requests. For spousal maintenance, the court ordered the father to pay the mother $100 per week, commencing from 21 December 2020. The parties were also ordered to enrol in a post-separation program and the mother was to continue attending psychological treatment. The Independent Children's Lawyer was granted leave to relist the matter in case of non-compliance and to provide relevant documents to X's treating psychologist and the single expert. The court noted that further consideration of interim parenting orders might be necessary after the release of the single expert report.