News
Grandmother wins ruling on care of grandson
.A grandmother has won a legal battle over the care of her three-year-old grandson. The Supreme Court ruled that where there is a dispute over custody, the child’s welfare takes precedence over the interests of the biological parents.
The boy’s parents had separated before he was born and he had lived with his grandmother all his life. The grandmother was granted a residence order in 2006 and two years later the father applied for a residence order which was refused.
He successfully appealed to the High Court and the Judge ruled that the level of care the father could provide was good enough, and so it did not matter whether the grandmother could provide something better.
The Supreme Court however has now ruled in favour of the grandmother. In giving the court’s ruling Lord Kerr said: “ The court’s quest is to determine what is in the best interests of the child, not what might constitute a second best but supposedly adequate alternative.” He continued to say: “ He has lived virtually all his young life with his grandmother. He has naturally formed a strong bond with her. There is reason to apprehend that, if that bond is broken, his current stability will be threatened.”
This ruling will help strengthen claims by grandparents to care for their grandchildren in certain circumstances.
Please contact Roger Stone at Chichester or Sarah Evans at Selsey for more information.