A court ruling and a family life that took different paths
The couple had divorced, and the court order granted the mother sole custody of their daughter and the right to use the family home. However, a few months later, they decided to give their relationship another go.
They moved back in together and, for almost ten years, continued to live as a family with their daughter. Their reconciliation lasted over time, but they never went through the courts to amend the arrangements agreed upon following the divorce.
The documents continued to refer to sole custody. Outside of them, the reality was very different.
Conflict arises when the relationship comes to a definitive end
After almost a decade, their cohabitation came to an end. It was then that the mother invoked the previous court order to retain custody of the child and demand that the father leave the home.
That order remained in force, but it had been made in relation to a family situation that no longer existed. To apply it without taking into account everything that had happened in the intervening years would be to ignore how the child’s life had actually unfolded.
The father needed the court to be aware of that part of the story.
How we solved it
When I examined the case, it was clear to me that the key lay in piecing together the years that had passed since the divorce. It had to be shown that there had not been a one-off reconciliation, but rather a prolonged period of cohabitation that had completely changed the family structure.
Cuando examiné el caso, me quedó claro que la clave estaba en reconstruir los años transcurridos desde el divorcio. Había que demostrar que no se había producido una reconciliación puntual, sino más bien un período prolongado de convivencia que había cambiado por completo la estructura familiar.
On that basis, I filed an application to vary the arrangements. I argued that custody and all other family decisions should be tailored to the current circumstances, not to a snapshot taken a decade ago.
A decision that reflects the minor’s circumstances
The court granted joint custody and replaced certain measures that had become outdated due to the passage of time and changes within the family.
La resolución reconoció una realidad que iba mucho más allá de lo que decía la antigua sentencia. Los años de convivencia, la organización familiar y la relación de la menor con su padre también debían formar parte de la decisión.
Ten years of life could not be excluded from the proceedings
In this case, my job was to piece together a complex family history and present it to the court, supported by facts and evidence.
A court order is the starting point, but families change. When the terms of a court order no longer reflect what is happening in everyday life, it is necessary to explain these changes clearly so that the new arrangements reflect the children’s current circumstances.
