Read the full judgment text of FCMC 11635/2016 on BabelCite. This Family Court judgment was delivered on 3 June 2020 before 區域法院法官彭家光.
Matrimonial proceedings – Variation of interim order – Social worker report – Child welfare – Costs – Mother's application to reduce scope of social worker report dismissed – Court held consideration of custody change must consider overall welfare including access arrangements – Mother to pay Father's costs. In this matrimonial proceeding, the Court dealt with an application by the mother to vary an interim order regarding a social worker's report on custody, care, control, and access arrangements for the child. The background involved previous orders from 2017 and 2018 where custody was granted to the mother with reasonable access for the father, and a social worker report on access progress was ordered. In 2019, the father applied for joint custody and permission to see a psychiatrist, leading to an interim order for a social worker report on custody and access. The mother refused to cooperate with the social worker on the access report. In January 2020, the mother applied to vary the interim order to limit the social worker report to custody only, arguing that the father's 2019 application only sought custody changes. The Court rejected this argument, holding that any consideration of custody changes must involve the overall welfare of the child, which necessarily includes past access situations and future access arrangements. The Court noted that the father claimed access had been problematic, requiring investigation by the social worker. The Court dismissed the mother's application and ordered both parties to cooperate with the social worker. Regarding costs, the Court ordered the mother to pay the father's costs of the application, including the Counsel's certificate, with the interim costs order to become absolute if no application was made within 14 days.
Legal issues: 社工報告範圍 · 更改暫准命令申請
Outcome: Mother's application to vary interim order dismissed.
Cites 1 case