What is the test for mobility in custody cases involving mobility?

Nova Scotia, Canada


The following excerpt is from A.C. v G.B, 2019 NSSC 133 (CanLII):

The starting point in cases involving mobility is the seminal case of Gordon v. Goertz, 1996 CanLII 191 (SCC), [1996] 2 S.C.R. 27. At paragraphs 49 and 50, the court held: “ The law can be summarized as follows: 1. The parent applying for a change in the custody or access order must meet the threshold requirement of demonstrating a material change in the circumstances affecting the child. 2. If the threshold is met, the judge on the application must embark on a fresh inquiry into what is in the best interests of the child, having regard to all the relevant circumstances relating to the child's needs and the ability of the respective parents to satisfy them. 3. This inquiry is based on the findings of the judge who made the previous order and evidence of the new circumstances. 4. The inquiry does not begin with a legal presumption in favour of the custodial parent, although the custodial parent's views are entitled to great respect. 5. Each case turns on its own unique circumstances. The only issue is the best interest of the child in the particular circumstances of the case. 6. The focus is on the best interests of the child, not the interests and rights of the parents. 7. More particularly the judge should consider, inter alia: (a) the existing custody arrangement and relationship between the child and the custodial parent; (b) the existing access arrangement and the relationship between the child and the access parent; (c) the desirability of maximizing contact between the child and both parents; (d) the views of the child; (e) the custodial parent’s reason for moving, only in the exceptional case where it is relevant to that parent’s ability to meet the needs of the child; (f) disruption to the child of a change in custody; (g) disruption to the child consequent on removal from family, schools, and the community he or she has come to know. 50 In the end, the importance of the child remaining with the parent to whose custody it has become accustomed in the new location must be weighed against the continuance of full contact with the child's access parent, its extended family and its community. The ultimate question in every case is this: what is in the best interests of the child in all the circumstances, old as well as new?”

Other Questions


What is the test for mobility in custody cases? (Nova Scotia, Canada)
What is the test for a judge to grant a temporary order to remove a parent from custody and place the child in the custody of the access parent? (Nova Scotia, Canada)
How have courts dealt with historical child sexual abuse cases involving older men? (Nova Scotia, Canada)
When will a court order sole custody in a family law case? (Nova Scotia, Canada)
What is the case law on concurrent sentences for assault and sexual assault cases? (Nova Scotia, Canada)
What factors should be considered in an application for custody of a person with mobility issues? (Nova Scotia, Canada)
What is the range of damages the Applicant can expect to receive from a company that has been involved in a fraud case? (Nova Scotia, Canada)
Is there any case law or case law supporting the confidentiality of mediation? (Nova Scotia, Canada)
What is the standard used in assessing the best interests of a child in a custody and access case? (Nova Scotia, Canada)
How has the court changed the schedule of shared parenting in a joint custody case? (Nova Scotia, Canada)
X



Alexi white


"The most advanced legal research software ever built."

Trusted by top litigators from across North America.