By David Dunham
The family court is not a battleground where bloodied and bruised mothers and fathers slug it out - but parents should expect to be hit in the pocket and be drained of emotional energy if involved in a custody dispute.
That is the view of a leading Tauranga family law barrister, Stephen Coyle, who has spoken out on the subject at a time when family court cases have been making headlines in the Western Bay and across the country.
The high profile case involving six-year-old Jayden Headley was followed by another in which the mother of a nine-year-old Tauranga girl faced being placed in custody if she did not deliver her daughter to a legal office by 1.30pm on January 30.
The girl, who had been in the interim custody of her father, having lived with her mother in Australia for two years, was brought in on time and a preliminary hearing for the case will start later this month.
Mr Coyle said the Jayden Headley case was an exception to the rule, and that only about 5 per cent of parents involved in disputes for the care arrangements for children get involved in a full family court hearing.
The family court does not use the term "custody battle", a view endorsed by Mr Coyle. The term "parenting order" is used instead.
There were 248 parenting orders made in Tauranga Family Court last year but Mr Coyle said the number of cases was not increasing. However, he said the effect on parents involved was "major".
"It has a huge cost in terms of money, emotional energy and time. Being cross-examined and having one's life and parenting skills put under the spotlight is stressful," Mr Coyle said.
"That is why I always say to clients that the best people to make decisions about their children are them as parents."
The main focus in arrangements for a child under the Care of Children Act 2004 was their welfare, Mr Boyle said, adding that a court would consider factors such as the ability of the parents to support each other; psychological issues; relationships that children have with other significant adults or siblings and the child's views. "The family court is a specialist court that ably deals with the matters before it. It is not a battleground for bloodied and bruised parents to slug it out," he said.
Mr Coyle said ongoing disagreements between parents about care had an impact on some children but he said others take it in their stride and move on. Nationally, in 2005-06, custody was awarded to the mother in 64 per cent of cases while it went to the father in just 11 per cent. The remainder went to a variety of guardians such as grandparents.
Mr Coyle said there had been a shift in recent years to equal custody arrangements between parents. However, he added: "In the majority of cases, the children live primarily with their mother following separation and spend time at their father's home visiting."
Parents best to decide child's care: Lawyer
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