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The notion of shared care and its place within the new regime
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Sarah Balfour Irwin MitchellPractitioners considering the judgment of Lord Justice MacFarlane in
M (A Child) [2014] EWCA Civ 1755 may note with interest his comments on the notion of shared care and the place that it has (or perhaps more accurately does not have) within the new legislation. The two relevant paragraphs which come towards the end of his judgment are perhaps worth a closer look.
The case itself concerns internal relocation. Both mother and father were of Tanzanian origin but during the course of their marriage lived in London. The father had older children from a previous relationship two of whom were at university but living with him. The mother reported that the atmosphere within the family home was 'toxic' and made allegations of controlling and other behaviours against the father. The father alleged that the mother had absented herself and the child from the family home for long periods of time without explanation.
The child a boy was 5 1/2 years old when the matter came before the Court of Appeal.
Proceedings were first initiated by the father who following...
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