LKM v NPM

LKM v NPM

The court found that the father has dysfunctional personality traits that pose a risk of emotional and physical harm to the children, which has abated only modestly since 2021. The best way to address these risks is through psychotherapy. The children wish to spend more time with their father, but their welfare requires a cautious, staged progression to unsupervised contact, contingent on the father's engagement with therapy. The mother is to have a sole lives with order, with a detailed schedule for contact and parental responsibility. The children are to remain at their current school. Both parents and the children should engage in appropriate therapeutic support.

Parties
Applicant/father: LKM; Respondent/mother: NPM
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
23 January 2024
Procedural Posture
Children Act Private Law (child Arrangements) / Final Judgment After Fact Finding and Welfare Hearing
Outcome
Sole lives with order to the mother; staged progression to unsupervised contact for the father subject to therapy; children to remain at current school.
Legal Topics
Child Arrangements, Parental Responsibility, Domestic Abuse, Expert Evidence, Supervised Contact, Welfare Principle
Family Law Children Law Child Arrangements Parental Responsibility Domestic Abuse Expert Evidence Supervised Contact Welfare Principle

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Parties

LKM

Applicant/father

NPM

Respondent/mother

Procedural Posture

Children Act Private Law (child Arrangements) / Final Judgment After Fact Finding and Welfare Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether to make a shared lives with order or sole lives with order for the children
  2. 2 Whether and when to move from supervised to unsupervised contact with the father
  3. 3 Whether the father's personality traits pose ongoing risk to the children

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the father has dysfunctional personality traits that pose a risk of emotional and physical harm to the children, which has abated only modestly since 2021. The best way to address these risks is through psychotherapy. The children wish to spend more time with their father, but their welfare requires a cautious, staged progression to unsupervised contact, contingent on the father's engagement with therapy. The mother is to have a sole lives with order, with a detailed schedule for contact and parental responsibility. The children are to remain at their current school. Both parents and the children should engage in appropriate therapeutic support.

Court Disposition

Sole lives with order to the mother; staged progression to unsupervised contact for the father subject to therapy; children to remain at current school.

Orders

  • Mother to have sole lives with order and day-to-day decision-making authority.
  • Father to have staged contact: immediate removal of supervision for weekday contact; weekend contact to remain supervised until father completes three months of psychotherapy and is confirmed as engaged by therapist.