The High Court in England recently heard an appeal from the Family Court in Watford, where an Order had been made that a psychological expert was to be appointed in a case to assess a family. This was in the context of re-establishing contact between two children and their father.
The case was characterised by its long history and levels of parental conflict. The Court had made an Order that a psychological expert be appointed to assess the family after a period of 10 months had passed between Court Hearings but no progress had been made and contact was still not taking place. The father was alleging that the mother was alienating the children via her behaviour, which was why contact had not started to take place. The Court therefore determined that an expert report would be necessary to assist it in determining the situation fairly. The mother appealed.
The Court of Appeal disagreed with this decision, allowing the appeal and setting aside the Order for the expert to be appointed. The Court of Appeal determined that the Family Court Judge had not fully considered the impact an assessment would have on the children. The case had been ongoing for a long time and the children had seen multiple professional experts during this time. It was also the first time in the case’s history that parental alienation was being directly alleged. The Guardian, whilst agreeing to the expert in the Family Court Hearing, was noted to have also voiced concerns about the children being over-exposed to further professional involvement.
The Court of Appeal determined that it was not in the interests of fairness to expose the children to further professional involvement in the hope that an assessment might discover something to unlock the problem which the Family Court was struggling to solve.
This judgement highlights the proportional approach that the Court will take when appointing psychological experts and the need for experts to be appointed in a timely manner. The welfare of the children will always be paramount when balancing whether or not it is necessary to expose them to further professional involvement.
Find out more regarding family matters with our Family Law team.