SEAWARD & MACDUFF

In a family law proceeding before Le Poer Trench J, the father sought orders for supervised and then unsupervised time with his children, aged 12 and 13, equal shared parental responsibility, and for the children to engage in therapy. The children had expressed a strong view that they did not wish to see their father, and the father alleged parental alienation by the mother. The court also noted that the parties' adult child was estranged from the father, and both parents demonstrated a lack of insight into the impact of their actions on the children.

The central legal issues before the court were whether it was in the best interests of the children to make orders compelling them to spend time with their father, and whether to grant the father leave to rely on an expert psychologist's report that critiqued the family report, without prior leave under rule 15.49.

The court determined that it was not in the best interests of the children to make orders compelling them to spend time with their father, given their expressed views and the parents' demonstrated lack of insight. Consequently, no orders were made for the children to spend time with the father. The father's application to tender the adversarial expert report was refused, as no leave had been granted.

The court made orders for the mother to have sole parental responsibility and for the children to live with her. Orders were also made for the mother to facilitate confidential therapy for the children, for the father to send letters to the children, and for the mother to send the father updates about the children. The father was restrained from approaching the children except with the mother's written consent, and the mother was to facilitate communication and potential meetings between the father and children under specific conditions. The court also made extensive orders regarding communication between the parents and the children, and recommended psychological support for the father.