Contact: no presumption here?

While the introduction of mandatory mediation arrived in a flurry of headlines, the abolition of residence and contact as part of the family law reforms in England & Wales received less publicity. Instead, courts will now make a child arrangement order.

It is now enshrined that the court should also presume, unless it is shown to the contrary, that involvement of a parent in a child’s life will promote the child’s welfare.

Here, such an approach was specifically rejected by Sheriff Principal Scott in KA v KS, an unusual example of a contact order being overturned on appeal.

Specifically, it appeared the sheriff was wrong to proceed on the basis that there was a presumption in favour of contact flowing from the “parental link”.

The sheriff failed to carry out the required balancing exercise and properly consider what was in the best interests of the child. The sheriff’s judgment was silent on why contact should be reinstated and failed to identify material supportive of disturbing the status quo, which was that no contact was taking place between the father and child.