PELMORE & MICKELS

In *Pelmore & Mickels*, heard before Judge Morley, the applicant father sought to vary interim parenting orders concerning their child, who was born via an altruistic gestational surrogacy. The applicant's primary concern was to have the respondent father's time with the child supervised, citing alleged risks. However, the Court was unable to make definitive findings on the contested allegations of family violence at this interim stage.

The central legal issue before the Court was how to best promote the child's welfare and best interests on an interim basis, given the inability to resolve serious allegations of family violence. The Court was required to balance the child's need for a relationship with both parents against the asserted risks, considering the existing close and loving relationship the child shared with each father.

Judge Morley reasoned that, in the absence of conclusive findings of risk, the child's best interests were served by maintaining a relationship with both parents. The Court noted the respondent father's positive steps in addressing his drug use, which weighed in favour of continued, albeit potentially supervised, contact. Ultimately, the Court determined that equal time was the appropriate interim arrangement. Consequently, Order 8 of the interim orders made on 8 April 2020 was vacated.