The High Court has affirmed most of a Circuit Court order governing a mother’s contact with her younger daughter, now a teenager, and set out limited arrangements for texts, cards and gifts. The order is conditional on the mother giving undertakings to the court about contact and where she goes.
The appeal, heard by Mr Justice Max Barrett on 8 September 2020, concerned access to the younger of the couple’s two children. The older child had reached adulthood by then. The mother sought greater access; the father sought to uphold the existing order. The High Court judgment was delivered on 24 September 2020.
The court relied on evidence from a psychotherapist who had prepared reports under section 47 of the Family Law Act 1995 and gave evidence at the hearing. The psychotherapist recommended very limited contact, citing the younger child’s fear of her mother and her view that she did not want to see her at that time. The judge accepted the expert recommendation as consistent with the other evidence and found the child’s best interests to be paramount.
The court affirmed points 1 to 4 and 6 to 7 of the Circuit Court order, restricting them to the younger child. Those points included sole custody for the father, the mother’s entitlement to medical information and school reports, and a restriction on her attending the child’s school during school hours. The judgment’s summary also says the mother must stay away from the father, his wife and the children, and the child’s school, as part of the undertakings sought.
If the mother gives the undertakings, she may send one general text each week for as long as the child wishes to receive them. The messages must not contain questions, requests or pressure, and must not be sent when the mother is under the influence of alcohol. The father is to monitor them periodically. If the child asks for the texts to stop, the mother must stop unless the child later indicates they may resume.
The mother may also send cards, short notes and small gifts at Christmas and for the child’s birthday, addressed to the father and kept safely until the child wishes to receive them. The court said the father should facilitate the limited contact ordered. It also said he should send the mother copies of the child’s medical and school reports without waiting for her to ask.
The judge did not order the mother to undergo addiction treatment. He urged her to consider further professional help, including residential treatment if appropriate. The court made no order as to costs.