Case Study: Resolving the complex issue of international relocation

Problem

Our client, the father, did not want the mother to relocate from Scotland to the Far East with the couple’s five year old child. The mother was from the Far East. She had been offered a better paid job and would have access to family support. The father was British. The parties had lived in the UK most of the child’s life. The child had regular overnight contact with his father. The child had a close and loving relationship with both parents.

Advice

The legal test for the court to decide was if the proposed move would be in the child’s best interests. We argued that the negative impact on the close relationship between the father and child outweighed any positive benefits the child might have had from the move. The child would go from spending at least two nights every week with his father to only seeing him during holidays. This would not be best for the child, even if it was better for the mother.

Outcome

The relocation was refused. The court agreed that the impact the relocation would have on the relationship between father and child was not in the child’s best interest. Our client continues to have care of his child for at least two nights each week and half the school holidays.