Parenting orders – know your obligations

Have you recently obtained parenting orders? The law requires you to take an active role in encouraging your children to attend and live with or spend time with the other parent, which goes beyond merely ensuring that the children are available.

It is sometimes forgotten that parenting orders come with obligations and if a parent fails to comply with the obligations, you may also be failing to comply with the parenting orders – which could have serious consequences.

A recent case in January 2013 (Krinos & Krinos and Ors [2013] FamCA 88) found four allegations of breaches by the mother could be proved on the basis that the wife made no reasonable attempt to comply with the orders. (In the case, she had removed the children from school in the first two breaches and did not make arrangements for the father to spend time with the children on the other two breaches.)

This case demonstrates how simple matters can be judged to be failing to comply with parenting orders. So it’s important to remember to do everything contained in a parenting order – including the obligations annexed to the orders.