Judge settles complex case involving two siblings and their stepfather

A High Court judge has settled a complex case relating to a stepfather’s parental responsibility for two siblings.

Sarah Tweedie, Associate Solicitor in our Family Law team, reports on this recent case.

The children were referred to in court as D, aged 14, and K, aged 10. They had the same mother but different fathers. The two fathers played little part in their children’s lives.

The mother started a relationship with a man referred to in court as A. She then took both children to live with A in his home country, New Zealand.

The couple married in March 2017 and had a child, Y, in 2018.

The couple’s relationship began to break down in 2022. The mother’s behaviour became erratic, and she moved into a refuge with her three children.

The mother then sent D and K to live with their maternal aunt in the UK. A was not told. The mother remained in New Zealand with Y.

A applied for a Parental Responsibility Order for D and K. 

In deciding the case, the judge said that D was “a young man who wants a little time and space to unravel some of the dramatic changes that have taken place in his life. Most strikingly of all he impresses me as wishing to recover some of his autonomy”.

“I do not think, given D’s age, the existence of a Parental Responsibility Order in favour of A would either add to or subtract significantly from the quality and importance of their relationship, each to the other.

By contrast, to overrule both D’s consistently expressed wishes and his feelings (resistant to the Parental Responsibility Order) would, I think, generate a sense of disempowerment which, in the light of his experiences, is likely to be inconsistent with his best interests and general welfare.”

However, the judge ruled it would be appropriate to grant A parental responsibility for K as he was the only father she had known.

She would be reassured by his commitment, and it would enable A to intervene if the mother continued to be disruptive.

For more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of family law please contact Sarah on 01434 603656 or click here to send her an email.