Key Facts
- •Ten-year-long family court proceedings involving a mother (Ms B) and father (Mr H) concerning contact arrangements for their two children, S and T.
- •Multiple judges have made findings of fact against the mother, including dishonesty and manipulation to alienate the children from their father.
- •The mother consistently denies the court's findings and attempts to undermine them.
- •The children, particularly T (aged 15), express a strong wish to cease contact with their father, influenced by the mother.
- •The guardian recommends contact continue until T's 16th birthday.
- •The case centers on whether 'exceptional circumstances' under section 9(6) of the Children Act 1989 exist to justify extending contact beyond T's 16th birthday.
Legal Principles
Section 9(6) of the Children Act 1989: No court shall make a section 8 order which will end after the child has reached the age of sixteen unless it is satisfied that the circumstances of the case are exceptional.
Children Act 1989
Best interests of the child are paramount in determining contact arrangements.
Children Act 1989 (implied)
A child's wishes and feelings are given significant weight, particularly as they approach adulthood, but must be considered in light of the evidence of parental manipulation.
Case law and judicial precedent (implied)
Outcomes
Contact orders between the father and T will continue until T's 16th birthday.
Balancing T's wishes and feelings (influenced by the mother's manipulation) with the evidence of the father's love for T and the benefits of maintaining contact up to 16, it is in T's best interests to continue contact until then. Extending beyond 16 would be futile and inappropriate.
No order extending contact beyond T's 16th birthday.
The court finds that extending contact beyond T's 16th birthday does not meet the 'exceptional circumstances' threshold under section 9(6) of the Children Act 1989 due to T's strongly expressed wishes and the unlikelihood of the order working in practice.
Section 91(14) order made until T is 18.
The parties agreed to this order, which the judge makes.