E.T. v. T.C.

E.T. v. T.C.

The children’s best interests require relocation with the primary caregiver (mother) and sole custody to her because the parents were not in a substantially shared parenting arrangement, the father has a long pattern of family violence, abuse and intimidation that negatively affected the children and continues to pose risk, the mother is the primary caregiver with a stable plan in Antigonish, and the father failed to prove a health-based inability to work so his income is imputed at $70,000 for support calculations. Shared parenting would be unsafe and unworkable given the history of abuse and poor cooperation.

Citation
2019 NSFC 16
Parties
Applicant (mother): E.T.; Respondent (father): T.C.
Court
Nova Scotia Family Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
23 December 2019
Procedural Posture
Family Court Custody/relocation/child Protection / Decision (final)
Outcome
Relocation authorized; sole custody and primary residence to mother; father granted specified supervised/unfettered information access and a restricted parenting time schedule; father’s income imputed and child support and arrears ordered.
Legal Topics
Custody, Relocation, Best Interests of the Child, Parenting Time, Income Imputation, Section 7 Expenses, Arrears Recovery, Use of Communication Platforms
Source Language
English
Family Law Child Protection Child Support Relocation Domestic/family Violence Custody Best Interests of the Child Parenting Time +4 more

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Parties

E.T.

Applicant (mother)

T.C.

Respondent (father)

Procedural Posture

Family Court Custody/relocation/child Protection / Decision (final)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the mother may relocate the children to Antigonish
  2. 2 Whether sole custody to the mother is appropriate vs. shared parenting
  3. 3 Assessment of family violence and its impact on best interests

Ratio Decidendi

The children’s best interests require relocation with the primary caregiver (mother) and sole custody to her because the parents were not in a substantially shared parenting arrangement, the father has a long pattern of family violence, abuse and intimidation that negatively affected the children and continues to pose risk, the mother is the primary caregiver with a stable plan in Antigonish, and the father failed to prove a health-based inability to work so his income is imputed at $70,000 for support calculations. Shared parenting would be unsafe and unworkable given the history of abuse and poor cooperation.

Court Disposition

Relocation authorized; sole custody and primary residence to mother; father granted specified supervised/unfettered information access and a restricted parenting time schedule; father’s income imputed and child support and arrears ordered.

Orders

  • Mother granted sole custody and primary residence of the children and authorized to relocate them to Antigonish
  • Mother entitled to make major decisions regarding children’s health, education and general well‑being; must keep father reasonably informed and may disclose records to him; father may obtain information from third‑party service providers but may not direct them