WA Family Court Orders - How to Temporarily Keep Kids Away from Ex?

[Worried mumma3]

Hi there.

My ex is a drugs user I can confirm he was using occasional crack and all the time pot when we were together. I now believe he is a heavy user of some sort of hard substance. His behaviour is erratic and unpredictable and always very aggressive.

He was admitted to hospital yesterday after being very intoxicated and suicidal and involved in a physical altercation with his dad trying to get our daughter. I have always believed he would put the kids first despite his many issues and that they were safe. He agreed to stay for the psych evaluation but then discharged himself. It is not known whether it was actually completed.

They are due to go to his house tomorrow for the weekend. I am now concerned for the kids' wellbeing in going there this weekend after everything that has happened and his state of mind. So my question is, what rights do I have to keep the kids away until I feel comfortable that he is mentally stable enough to have them again?

I'm not looking for permanent family court orders to keep the kids away as they really do love seeing him, but for now until I think the kids are safe.

 

[sammy01]

Hi, sorry to hear about your issues.

Look, as a rule withholding kids is not a crime and if there was court proceedings you would have to show you have grounds for withholding the kids. So based on the info provided, I reckon you meet that criteria - but I'm not the judge. So my thinking goes like this: if your concern for your kids is greater than a reasonable person might have for a negative consequence in court then withholding them would seem reasonable. Besides you're not gonna get locked up.

But let's look for solutions. Look, dad not seeing his kids is gonna be detrimental to his mental health. If I was in your situation I'd be looking at inviting him to have some supervised time so he can see his kids. In short, let's take mental health as we would any other illness. So if my ex broke her leg. I would not say you can't see the kids because you can't look after them. I'd say, "ok let's make sure she can spend some time with the kids in a way that was suitable for all concerned".

 

[Julia S]

The Courts do look negatively at keeping children away from their other parent *usually*.

Just because a person has mental health issues does not mean they cannot properly perform their duties as a father on their weekend with him. In fact he may be looking forward to seeing kids.

Sometimes by threatening to take away the kids for the weekend can have some negative effects on people with mental health issues so tread carefully.