B.W. v. A.A.

B.W. v. A.A.

The application to vary the consent order was dismissed because the applicant failed to establish that granting joint custody or any access would be in the child’s best interests; primary reasons were a proven history of family violence and extensive criminality by the father, the absence of any existing parent-child relationship, the mother’s credible fear and medical effects, lack of remorse or insight by the father, and the parents’ inability to cooperate — all of which demonstrated that change would harm, not benefit, the child.

Citation
2017 NSFC 12
Parties
Applicant: B.W.; Respondent: A.A.
Court
Nova Scotia Family Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
20 June 2017
Procedural Posture
Variation Application Under the Maintenance and Custody Act (family Law Custody/access) / Decision After Hearing on Variation Application (judgment)
Outcome
Application dismissed; no change to existing consent order granting mother sole custody and continuing no access by father.
Legal Topics
Custody Variation, Access Denial, Best Interests of the Child, Family Violence Impact, Supervised Access, Parenting Orders
Source Language
English
Family Law Custody and Access Domestic Violence Criminal Law (intersecting) Custody Variation Access Denial Best Interests of the Child Family Violence Impact +2 more

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Parties

B.W.

Applicant

A.A.

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Variation Application Under the Maintenance and Custody Act (family Law Custody/access) / Decision After Hearing on Variation Application (judgment)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether to vary existing consent custody order to grant joint custody to the father
  2. 2 Whether to grant parenting time/access to the father given a history of family violence and extensive criminal record
  3. 3 Whether changes in circumstances satisfy the threshold for variation under s.37 MCA

Ratio Decidendi

The application to vary the consent order was dismissed because the applicant failed to establish that granting joint custody or any access would be in the child’s best interests; primary reasons were a proven history of family violence and extensive criminality by the father, the absence of any existing parent-child relationship, the mother’s credible fear and medical effects, lack of remorse or insight by the father, and the parents’ inability to cooperate — all of which demonstrated that change would harm, not benefit, the child.

Court Disposition

Application dismissed; no change to existing consent order granting mother sole custody and continuing no access by father.

Orders

  • Applicant's requests for joint custody and access are dismissed.
  • No order for child support is made.