Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Care and control

Legal area

Court

11 Feb 2026

黃對張

Citation

[2026] HKFC 20
Court

Family Court
Case number

FCJA1178/2022

Maintaining the children's existing stable arrangement in Hong Kong best serves their welfare: joint custody is appropriate; father is the more suitable person for day-to-day care and control because he is the established primary carer, provides stability for schooling and daily needs, and there is no proven risk of harm; mother is granted reasonable contact; travel to Mainland for visits is permitted given historical practice and absence of objection from father.
21 Feb 2025

SSLT v. SMFC

Citation

[2025] HKFC 35
Court

Family Court
Case number

FCMC11056/2017

On the evidence the court found no parental alienation by the Father; having regard to the children's welfare, the 2018 consent arrangements had been altered in practice and best interests required varying care and control: joint custody retained but care and control of both children granted to the Father, with defined access to the Mother (specific weekday dinners and alternate weekend access) and equal, mutually agreed holiday sharing; Social Welfare Officer reports considered but the court reached a different conclusion on G based on sibling unity, stability and changed circumstances.
13 Dec 2024

H v. W

Citation

[2024] HKFC 226
Court

Family Court
Case number

FCMC8332/2017

On balance of welfare and evidence the court found it was not in A’s best interests to change care and control to the Father; the Mother's relocation proposal to Singapore was genuine and realistic, supported by reports and A's expressed wishes, and granted subject to a mirror order in Singapore and a court undertaking to return A if required; access and transitional arrangements and specified financial variations were ordered; a Section 18 declaration was pronounced enabling the Mother to apply to make the decree nisi absolute.
17 Jul 2024

TKY v. YSGA

Citation

[2024] HKCA 689
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CAMP37/2024

Leave to appeal refused because the father's grounds did not demonstrate a reasonable prospect of success: the judge lawfully and properly exercised discretion in structuring care and access, considered relevant matters including SIO recommendations and disruption to children's routine, did not take into account irrelevant matters or exhibit gender bias, and the access and e-access orders fell within the permissible ambit of judicial discretion.
25 Apr 2024

王對謝

Citation

[2024] HKFC 88
Court

Family Court
Case number

FCMC8940/2022

Child's welfare is paramount. On available evidence including the social welfare report and the child's expressed wishes, the child should continue to reside with the mother. However the father's access time must be increased and made more continuous to preserve and develop the father-child relationship. There was insufficient expert evidence to conclude deliberate parental alienation by the mother; therefore custody is not transferred. Transitional supervised arrangements and requirements (parenting courses, monitoring report, prohibition on removal) are necessary to secure access and the ch…
15 Mar 2024

YHY v. YKM

Citation

[2024] HKFC 49
Court

Family Court
Case number

FCMP235/2021

The court applied the paramount welfare principle and accepted the social welfare officer's recommendations; joint custody was appropriate and should not be varied because the parties were not high-conflict and joint custody facilitates co-parenting; care and control was awarded to the Mother with a staged access regime for the Father tied to the Child's age, sense of security and routine; the change of first name was refused because it was not in the Child's best interests given the established use of the current name and the Father's delay; a 12-month supervision order and progress report w…
9 Feb 2024

TKY v. YSGA

Citation

[2024] HKFC 28
Court

Family Court
Case number

FCMC2208/2023

Leave to appeal was refused because the applicant failed to show any reasonable prospect of success on the pleaded grounds and there was no other reason in the interests of justice: the judge properly assessed gender considerations as non‑determinative, reasonably prioritized continuity during term time to avoid disruptive mid‑week changeovers, found the SIO and SIR unbiased, and concluded the father's access rights outside term and electronic access were reasonable in the circumstances.
7 Feb 2024

劉對盧

Citation

[2024] HKFC 80
Court

Family Court
Case number

FCMC12463/2018

Court refused the father's application and maintained the existing arrangement: mother retains care and control of both children and guardianship remains joint. Decision rested on the children's best interests as informed by social welfare reports and the children's expressed wishes, superior living conditions with mother, the importance of preserving sibling unity, the son's aversion to staying at the grandparents' home (including concerns about uncle's long-term mental illness), and the father's persistent use of coarse language and lack of insight which adversely affected his relationship…
11 Jan 2024

王對万

Citation

[2024] HKFC 8
Court

Family Court
Case number

FCMP72/2019

Applying Cap.13 s3 and the guiding factors in Payne, the court found relocation to Shenzhen to be in the child's best interests because father is the established primary carer, the relocation plan is feasible (suitable housing, supportive step‑mother, practical cross‑border access), social work reports recommended approval subject to school place confirmation, and the mother's relationship with the child can be maintained by defined visitation and daily electronic contact; accordingly father retains care and control and relocation is approved with specified conditions.
23 Aug 2023

PJM V. NPGP formerly known as GPN

Citation

[2023] HKFC 172
Court

Family Court
Case number

FCMC4999/2014

Relocation was granted because, on a holistic balancing exercise with the welfare of the children paramount, the father demonstrated genuine and realistic proposals: superior and more accessible medical and rehabilitative services for T in Australia, feasible schooling options for both children, credible support from the stepmother and paternal family, and generous access and flight undertakings to preserve the mother-child relationship; refusal would negatively affect the father's ability to provide stable care and delay critical treatment for T.