{"id":263,"date":"2016-02-12T11:05:21","date_gmt":"2016-02-12T16:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toronto-familylawyer.com\/toronto-family-lawyer\/custody-and-access-mobility-rights\/"},"modified":"2025-05-06T06:59:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T10:59:08","slug":"custody-and-access-mobility-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vapits.com\/jnm\/blog\/custody-and-access-mobility-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Custody and Access – Mobility Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Custody and Access\u2013 Mobility<\/h2>\n

After separation when one parent has custody of the children, he or she may decide to relocate for a considerable distance from the jurisdiction where both parents are residing with the children for various reasons notably, employment opportunities, relationship or family support.<\/p>\n

Often the access parent opposes the move to protect his\/her access rights because the move often times interferes with the access schedule by reducing the frequency of access and increasing access costs.<\/p>\n

The test to assess the move is based on what is in the best interest of the children.<\/p>\n

The leading case in this area is the Supreme Court of Canada\u2019s decision of Gordon v. Goertz,<\/em> [1996] S.C.J. No.52, 19 R.F.L. (4th<\/sup>) 177 (S.C.C.) which sets out the following factors to be considered by the court when deciding on mobility cases, including:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The existing custody and access arrangements and relationships between the child and each parent;<\/li>\n
  2. The desirability of maximizing contact between the child and both parents;<\/li>\n
  3. The views of the child;<\/li>\n
  4. The Custodial parent\u2019s reason for moving, but only in the exceptional case where it is relevant to that parent\u2019s ability to meet the needs of the child;<\/li>\n
  5. The disruption to the child of a change in custody; and<\/li>\n
  6. The disruption to the child consequent on removal from family, schools and the community he or she has come to know.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In a British Columbia decision of One, v One<\/em>, [2000] B.C.J. NO. 2178, 81 B.C.L.R. (3d) 315, 2000 BCSA 1584 (B.C.C.A), The Honourable Mr. Justice Burnyeat reviewed various decided cases that have produced the following 12 factors which have been considered by the courts since Gordon v Goertz in deciding what is in the best interests of the children:<\/p>\n

    (A)\u00a0 PARENTING CAPABILITIES OF AND CHILDREN\u2019S RELATIONSHIP WITH PARENTS AND NEW PARTNERS<\/u>:<\/p>\n

    Morrison v. Morrison,<\/em><\/strong> 2000 BCSC 1017 (CanLII)<\/a>; Henderson-Thomson v. Thomson<\/em><\/strong>, 2000 BCSC 1273 (CanLII)<\/a>; Creighton v. Creighton<\/em><\/strong>, [1997] B.C.J. No. 2081 (QL) (B.C.S.C.);<\/p>\n

    (B)\u00a0 EMPLOYMENT SECURITY AND PROSPECTS OF EACH SPOUSE AND, WHERE APPROPRIATE, THEIR PARTNER<\/u>:<\/p>\n

    Kennedy v. Kennedy<\/em><\/strong>, [1997] B.C.J. No. 2572 (QL) (B.C.S.C.); Wilson v. Daffern<\/em><\/strong>, [1998] B.C.J. No. 2899 (QL) (B.C.S.C.); Vinderskov v. Vinderskov<\/em><\/strong>, 2000 BCSC 744 (CanLII)<\/a>; Gabriel v. Gabriel<\/em><\/strong>, 2000 BCSC 587 (CanLII)<\/a>; Lowther v. Ontiveros<\/em><\/strong>, [1998] B.C.J. No. 2650 (QL) (B.C.S.C.); Dhaliwal v. Dhaliwal<\/em><\/strong>, [1998] B.C.J. No. 129 (QL) (B.C.S.C.); Lloyd v. Earle<\/em><\/strong>, [1996] B.C.J. No. 2274 (QL) (B.C.S.C.); Campbell v. Campbell<\/em><\/strong>, [1996] B.C.J. No. 1235 (QL) (B.C.S.C.); Niewerth v. Niewerth<\/em><\/strong>, [1997] B.C.J. No. 1091 (QL) (B.C.S.C.);<\/p>\n

    (C)\u00a0 ACCESS TO AND SUPPORT OF EXTENDED FAMILY<\/u>:<\/p>\n

    Kennedy v. Kennedy<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Poirier v. Heron<\/em><\/strong>, [1996] B.C.J. No. 1045 (QL) (B.C.S.C.); Keil v. Wrightmeyer<\/em><\/strong>, 2000 BCSC 504 (CanLII)<\/a>; Wilson v. Daffern<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Lichtenwald v. Lichtenwald<\/em><\/strong>, [1999] B.C.J. No. 2137 (QL) (B.C.S.C.); Brekke v. Brekke<\/em><\/strong>, [1999] B.C.J. No. 139 (QL) (B.C.S.C.); Henderson-Thomson v. Thomson<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Vinderskov v. Vinderskov<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Lowther v. Ontiveros<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Proctor v. Proctor<\/em><\/strong>, [1998] B.C.J. No. 2171 (QL) (B.C.S.C.); Western v. Young<\/em><\/strong>, [1998] B.C.J. No. 1686 (QL) (B.C.S.C.); Dhaliwal v. Dhaliwal<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Campbell v. Campbell<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Niewerth v. Neiwerth<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>;<\/p>\n

    (D)\u00a0 DIFFICULTY OF EXERCISING PROPOSED ACCESS AND QUALITY OF PROPOSED ACCESS IF MOVE IS ALLOWED:<\/u><\/p>\n

    Kennedy v. Kennedy<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Poirier v. Heron<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Keil v. Wrightmeyer<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Wilson v. Daffern<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Mammon v. Mammon<\/em><\/strong>, [1999] B.C.J. No. 2343 (QL) (B.C.S.C.); Brekke v. Brekke<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Vinderskov v. Vinderskov<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Doro v. Doro<\/em><\/strong>, [1997] B.C.J. No. 2407 (QL) (B.C.S.C.); Lloyd v. Earle<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Creighton v. Creighton<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Campbell v. Campbell<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Niewerth v. Niewerth<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>;<\/p>\n

    (E)\u00a0 EFFECT UPON CHILDREN\u2019S ACADEMIC SITUATION<\/u>:<\/p>\n

    Keil v. Wrightmeyer<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Morrison v. Morrison<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Lichtenwald v. Lichtenwald<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Brekke v. Brekke<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Vinderskov v. Vinderskov<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Gabriel v. Gabriel<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Proctor v. Proctor<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Niewerth v. Niewerth<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>;<\/p>\n

    (F)\u00a0 PSYCHOLOGICAL\/EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN<\/u>:<\/p>\n

    Gabriel v. Gabriel<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Robinson v. Beertema<\/em><\/strong>, [1996] B.C.J. No. 1498 (QL) (B.C.S.C.); Niewerth v. Niewerth<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Kennedy v. Kennedy<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Henderson-Thomson v. Thomson<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>;<\/p>\n

    (G)\u00a0 DISRUPTION OF CHILDREN\u2019S EXISTING SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND ROUTINES<\/u>:<\/p>\n

    Keil v. Wrightmeyer<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Morrison v. Morrison<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Brekke v. Brekke<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Vinderskov v. Vinderskov<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Lowther v. Ontiveros<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Proctor v. Proctor<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Doro v. Doro<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Lloyd v. Earle<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Creighton v. Creighton<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Campbell v. Campbell<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>;<\/p>\n

    (H)\u00a0 DESIRABILITY OF PROPOSED NEW FAMILY UNIT FOR CHILDREN<\/u>:<\/p>\n

    Henderson-Thomson v. Thomson<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Lloyd v. Earle<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Creighton v. Creighton<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>;<\/p>\n

    (I)\u00a0 RELATIVE PARENTING CAPABILITIES OF EITHER PARENT AND RESPECTIVE ABILITY TO DISCHARGE THEIR PARENTING RESPONSIBILITIES<\/u>:<\/p>\n

    Vinderskov v. Vinderskov<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Doro v. Doro<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Dhaliwal v. Dhaliwal<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Creighton v. Creighton<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>;<\/p>\n

    (J)\u00a0 CHILD\u2019S RELATIONSHIP WITH BOTH PARENTS<\/u>:<\/p>\n

    Kennedy v. Kennedy<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Wilson v. Daffern<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Mammon v. Mammon<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Simpson v. Simpson<\/em><\/strong>, (1997) Vancouver DO99652 (B.C.S.C.); Morrison v. Morrison<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Lichtenwald v. Lichtenwald<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Brekke v. Brekke<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Henderson-Thomson v. Thomson<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Vinderskov v. Vinderskov<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Lowther v. Ontiveros<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Western v. Young<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Dhaliwal v. Dhaliwal<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Lloyd v. Earle<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>; Niewerth v. Niewerth<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>;<\/p>\n

    (K)\u00a0 SEPARATION OF SIBLINGS<\/u>:<\/p>\n

    Wilson v. Daffern<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>;<\/p>\n

    (L)\u00a0 RETRAINING\/EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR MOVING PARENT<\/u>:<\/p>\n

    Western v. Young<\/em><\/strong>, supra<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    Lastly it should be noted that cases involving custody, access and mobility rights are largely fact driven making it challenging to predict the outcome of a particular mobility case.<\/p>\n

    Jane Mukongolo is a divorce lawyer\/family lawyer practising in Toronto and an active blogger on family law issues at www.jnmlaw.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[114,102,95,115,112,96,116,91,92,97,98,84,94,99,100],"class_list":["post-263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-custody-and-access","tag-divorce-lawyer","tag-etobicoke-family-lawyer","tag-family-law","tag-family-lawyer","tag-mississauga-family-lawyer","tag-mobility-rights","tag-north-york-divorce-lawyer","tag-north-york-family-lawyer","tag-richmond-hill-family-lawyer","tag-scarborough-family-lawyer","tag-toronto-divorce-lawyer","tag-toronto-family-lawyer","tag-vaughan-family-lawyer","tag-woodbridge-family-lawyer"],"yoast_head":"\nMobility Rights - Family Lawyer Toronto | J.N. 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