The importance of considering all the options in relocation cases

Family analysis: Catherine Wood QC of 4 Paper Buildings reviews the decision in Re M (International Relocation: Welfare Analysis) [2017] EWCA Civ 2356 in which the Court of Appeal held that the judge had failed to carry out the sophisticated and complex analysis required in a relocation case.

What are the practical implications of the case?

Re M reinforces the requirement for a judge hearing a relocation case to properly consider the options for the child(ren) advanced by the parties and to carry out a comprehensive analysis of each with an appropriate degree of sophistication and complexity and followed the decision in Re F (A Child) (International Relocation Case) [2015] EWCA Civ 882 [2017] 1 FLR 979.

Practitioners should ensure that the information the judge will need in order to properly evaluate the competing proposals is clearly set out in the written evidence and supplemented (as necessary) in oral evidence.

Practitioners should also note the observations of Jackson LJ as to the ‘high quality’ of the Cafcass report and the ‘coherent analysis’ provided by the Cafcass officer who ‘cogently explained the importance to a child of this age being allowed to develop such...

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