Asprey & Delamere 2014 FamCA 838

The case involved parents of children aged 7 and 3 years.   Parents had been unable to make joint decisions on two major long term issues involving education and health care.  The mother wanted the children to attend a private school and offered to pay the fees, but the father saw no benefit in attending a private school and considered that funds could be better used elsewhere.  The mother wanted one child to have an operation on the ear but the father did not attend a consultation with a medical specialist to learn about the proposal.

The judge found that the parents were a high conflict couple with considerable hostility between them, and that they had not protected the children from their hostility towards each other (impact on child, capacity to protect).  The judge found that the parents were unable to make a joint decision in the best interests of their children.

The judge granted sole parental responsibility to the mother.