Rabkin & Edsall (No 3)

This matter concerned final parenting orders concerning the child K, born in 2010, between the mother and the father. Hogan J presided over the proceedings.

The court was required to determine a range of issues concerning the child's living arrangements, parental responsibility, and time spent with each parent, including the mother's proposed relocation of the child to the United Kingdom. Specific legal issues included the allocation of sole and equal shared parental responsibility for long-term decisions, the process for decision-making regarding major long-term issues, and the arrangements for the child's time with each parent both before and after any relocation. The court also considered provisions for communication, travel, and the exchange of information between the parents, as well as orders aimed at preventing denigration of either parent and protecting the child from discussions about the proceedings.

Hogan J made final orders that the child K live with the mother and that the mother have sole parental responsibility for all major long-term issues, except for the child's name, in respect of which the parties were to have equal shared parental responsibility. The mother was required to inform the father in writing of proposed decisions on major long-term issues and allow him 14 days to respond before making a final decision. The mother was permitted to relocate the child to the United Kingdom after a specified date. Detailed provisions were made for the child's time with the father both before and after the relocation, including specific periods of time, communication arrangements via telephone, Facetime, email, and mail, and requirements for the paternal grandmother's presence during certain periods of the child's time with the father. The court also made orders regarding the exchange of information about the child's schooling and health, and prohibited the denigration of either parent. The father was restrained from using physical discipline towards the child. The court also made orders facilitating the child's travel and obtaining an Australian passport.