Court of Appeal rewrites relocation guidance for divorced parents

The ruling by the appeal judges in MK v CK [2011] EWCA Civ 793 set aside earlier interpretations of the Payne v Payne precedent which bound judges to take particular account of the welfare of the main carer but was increasingly seen as out of touch with modern arrangements encouraging shared parenting.

Miles Geffin, legal director at Mishcon de Reya, said it was time the Court of Appeal ruled that “slavish adherence to the guidance in Payne was inappropriate”.

“Payne was taken to promote a matrocentric approach – which led on occasions to placing the mother’s interests above those of the children.” he said. “It will be difficult to regard a situation where the child only spends alternate weekends with the other parent as shared care but where there is genuine shared care it will now be less likely that judges will grant a relocation order.”

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