NSW Family Court Reporter

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Ladytaree

Member
3 December 2018
3
0
1
Hello
Ex husband & I, with daughter completed interview with Family Court writer a few weeks ago.
Was wondering if we will get it back before Christmas or will we have to wait till court opens again in the New Year. Also how soon after we get this back will a court date be given to us.
Thank you
Taree
 

Complex16

Well-Known Member
27 July 2016
118
15
454
Hello
Ex husband & I, with daughter completed interview with Family Court writer a few weeks ago.
Was wondering if we will get it back before Christmas or will we have to wait till court opens again in the New Year. Also how soon after we get this back will a court date be given to us.
Thank you
Taree

My first family report took 9 months to come through. Hopefully that's not the norm?!
 

Ladytaree

Member
3 December 2018
3
0
1
Hello
Ex husband & I, with daughter completed interview with Family Court writer a few weeks ago.
Was wondering if we will get it back before Christmas or will we have to wait till court opens again in the New Year. Also how soon after we get this back will a court date be given to us.
Thank you
Taree

Thank you for your reply. Yes we hope not. This will be the 2nd report. 1st one was when she was two & we couldnt get a court date now she is 4. So report writer has copy of 1st report writers report. Hopefully, with the info they have, the 2nd report will be done quickly. There are no incidents of abuse, violence or anything.... just both parents wanting to spend more time with child & cannot agree to be the one to have less time with her.
 

sammy01

Well-Known Member
27 September 2015
5,152
720
2,894
hey, why not give us some details, no names... date of birth etc... and ask some opinion here about what sort of time... I'll go first, 4 yr old kid? look up Jen McIntoch. She is a child psychologist who is often cited as an expert when it comes to this stuff. Now I have to tell you that be warned she is often mis-quoted by folks on both sides... For for primary carers, she says 50/50 care is a bad idea (FOR YOUNG KIDS) But often folks choose to ignore the bit in brackets.... My version of her reading in short? 1 night a week per year of age, give or take, kind of sort of , with a twist... So some time after the first birthday, and probably getting closer to 2yrs old = 1 night a week (assuming no longer breast feeding)

So by 4... NO reason the kid could not manage 4-5 nights a fortnight. I have 3 kids, the youngest was 1 when we separated. He had 5 nights a fortnight from the time he was 3 and he is now 7 and doing fine...

My advice? avoid court... What is the difference between the amount of time mum reckons and the amount of time dad reckons? IF one parent is being silly - as in one parent all of a sudden wanting 90% care when previously they only had 10% OR the primary carer wanting to insist the kid only see the other parent for 1 night a week and the primary carer gets to change the day to suit them, then court is absolutely a bad idea... Much better to find a compromise.
 

Rod

Lawyer
LawConnect (LawTap) Verified
27 May 2014
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www.hutchinsonlegal.com.au
In my view the McIntosh report on overnight care by fathers for very young children (<4 yrs) has been discredited and should no longer be used.

Young children do not suffer distress or have their development affected when looked after by a loving caring father.

50/50 care is entirely appropriate where circumstances permit (ie not breast-feeding, both parents caring and supportive of infant).

Taking some selective quoting from Warshak et al:

There is no evidence to support postponing the introduction of regular and frequent involvement, including overnights, of both parents with their babies and toddlers. Maintaining children’s attachment relationships with each parent is an important consideration when developing parenting plans. The likelihood of maintaining these relationships is maximized by reducing the lengths of separations between children and each parent and by providing adequate parenting time for each parent. Such arrangements allow each parent to learn about the child’s individual needs and to hone parenting skills most appropriate for each developmental period. The optimal frequency and duration of children’s time with each parent will differ among children, depending on several factors such as their age and their parents’ circumstances, motivations, and abilities to care for the children. Other important considerations include children’s unique relationship histories with each parent and their experience of each parent’s care and involvement. In each case where it is desirable to foster the parent– child relationship, the parenting plan needs to be sensitive to the child’s needs, titrating [concentrating ? RW] the frequency, duration, and structure of contact.

If the child has to be returned within 2 hours of being picked up by the father, this leaves little time for relaxed interaction. Overnights help to reduce the tension associated with rushing to return the child, and thus potentially improve the quality and satisfaction of the contact both for the parent and child. Overnights allow the child to settle in to the father’s home, which would be more familiar to the child who regularly spends the night in the home compared with one who has only 1-hr segments in the home (allowing for transportation and preparation for the return trip). The physical spaces in which father–child interactions take place influence the nature and types of interaction, and affect the father’s identity as a parent (Marsiglio, Roy, & Fox, 2005). Nonetheless, because of the relatively few studies currently available, the limitations of these studies, and the predominance of results that indicate no direct benefit or drawback for overnights per se outside the context of other factors, we stop short of concluding that the current state of evidence supports a blanket policy or legal presumption regarding overnights. Because of the well-documented vulnerability of father– child relationships among never-married and divorced parents, and the studies that identify overnights as a protective factor associated with increased father commitment to child rearing and reduced incidence of father drop-out, and because no study demonstrates any net risk of overnights, decision makers should recognize that depriving young children of overnights with their fathers could compromise the quality of their developing relationship.

Too often mothers use parental alienation with the support of professionals, both pysch and legal, using discredited research (eg McIntosh) to reinforce their unwillingness to properly co-parent.

I accept circumstances are not always conducive to 50/50 co-parenting, but in the absence of significant mitigating circumstances, then equal time is what is best for the young child.
 
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Ladytaree

Member
3 December 2018
3
0
1
hey, why not give us some details, no names... date of birth etc... and ask some opinion here about what sort of time... I'll go first, 4 yr old kid? look up Jen McIntoch. She is a child psychologist who is often cited as an expert when it comes to this stuff. Now I have to tell you that be warned she is often mis-quoted by folks on both sides... For for primary carers, she says 50/50 care is a bad idea (FOR YOUNG KIDS) But often folks choose to ignore the bit in brackets.... My version of her reading in short? 1 night a week per year of age, give or take, kind of sort of , with a twist... So some time after the first birthday, and probably getting closer to 2yrs old = 1 night a week (assuming no longer breast feeding)

So by 4... NO reason the kid could not manage 4-5 nights a fortnight. I have 3 kids, the youngest was 1 when we separated. He had 5 nights a fortnight from the time he was 3 and he is now 7 and doing fine...

My advice? avoid court... What is the difference between the amount of time mum reckons and the amount of time dad reckons? IF one parent is being silly - as in one parent all of a sudden wanting 90% care when previously they only had 10% OR the primary carer wanting to insist the kid only see the other parent for 1 night a week and the primary carer gets to change the day to suit them, then court is absolutely a bad idea... Much better to find a compromise.

Hello there.
Sorry i did not mention. Spouse lives 5 hours away. 4yr old goes to school there cant be fortnightly trips as there is now due to logistics.
Would like know:
1)approx how long after appointments do you receiving Report Writers report?
2) when does next court date get made. At the moment there is no court date.
Thank you.
 

sammy01

Well-Known Member
27 September 2015
5,152
720
2,894
Ladytaree.... No one can answer... How long is a piece of string. I'm betting next court appearance will be booked in after the report is handed down. So you have two layers of delay happening.

So assuming there isn't a dispute about relocation??? I think you're likely to see visits that are less frequent than fortnightly.... for what my opinion is worth, offering more than half school holidays might be worth considering.... My kids live with me, spend time with the other parent. The ex has all winter break, 3 of the 5 weeks over summer and a little more than half of the other two school holiday periods. Kinda sux, I feel I do the hard yards during term and the ex gets the good times.... But that said, nothing is ever gonna be perfect and to be honest, with the $$$ I saved fighting this crap in courts meant I have $$$ to give myself a nice holiday during the winter school holidays....
 

Migz

Well-Known Member
20 November 2016
325
43
719
Ladytaree, I have a question for you, as I received an email from another report writer yesterday, has your report writer changed? As i would like to know why these judges see fit to change the Report Writer through an ongoing family court case...you don't change ICL's halfway through so why should the judge be allowed to change report writers.

Aside from that, its very strange that you don't have a court date coming up, is there not one listed in your last set of orders, when the judge also requested another family report to be completed?

1)approx how long after appointments do you receiving Report Writers report?

I have found after talking with a vast amount of parents in this system, that the report writer more often than not, releases the Report within 14 days of the next court date, WHY? Simple, then the report cannot be used in that court case and it must be adjourned for another 3mths so that the report can then be added to either parties paperwork for filing. WHY? this keeps people in court longer adding to the money spent in the industry, just another disgusting feature of this game called FAMILY LAW in this country.

2) when does next court date get made. At the moment there is no court date.

You should already have one. If you do not have one as you say, and it's not listed in the commsportal, and or on the last set of orders handed down, then your only avenue to get a court date is to file an "Application In A Case". Once again, you may have to file this without the Report being handed down. You are at liberty to contact the report writer and ask the question "Can you please supply a firm date as to when the report will be ready?"

P.S. ROD nice work, Warshak pulls apart every inch of Macintoshs bulls**t.