Susie and Tony’s relationship broke down after months of fighting. Susie left the home in Orange and moved to Sydney to live with her mother, taking their 2 sons with her. Early on Tony was just over the whole thing and did not want to “fight” for the boys. However, the boys’ paternal grandfather, Gerald, was concerned about not seeing the boys given his previous close involvement and care of the boys when the parents lived together in Orange. He approached us for help in arranging for him to spend time with his grandchildren.
Unfortunately Susie ignored requests for mediation, and so Gerald had no option but to file an application in court. Court can be a slow progress but it prompted Susie and Gerald to find a workable agreement which allowed Gerald to see the boys on a regular basis and to contact them on a weekly basis by telephone. The main issue was the geographic distance, and given Orange to Sydney is a 7 hour round trip, it was clearly unreasonable to have fortnightly visits. A happy medium was struck with the parties agreeing to the boys seeing Gerald in Sydney initially for day visits once a month and then increasing to overnight time once a month.
As the process continued, Tony also re-engaged, and actively sought to spend time with his boys, seemingly encouraged by Gerald’s success. When the matter was heard at hearing, the work done in organising the interim arrangements helped greatly in bringing the parties to further agreements and also helped by creating an environment where the parents understood the importance of placing the interests of the children above theirs.
For further information or assistance please contact Sarah Bevan Family Lawyers.
All names and identifying features have been changed for privacy reasons in our case studies. These case studies only have basic detail in them, and you should always bear in mind that every case is unique. These case studies are examples only, and cannot be applied to your circumstances without consideration of all relevant facts.