What are the factors used by the court in determining whether or not to grant custody of a child to a third party?
Ontario, Canada
The following excerpt is from Meijers v. Hasse, 2007 CanLII 23494 (ON SC):
At paragraph 49 of the Gordon v. Goertz decision, MacLachlin C.J. held that, when considering what is in the best interest of the children, the court should particularly consider the following seven factors: (a) the existing custody arrangement and relationship between the child and the custodial parent, (b) the existing access arrangement and the relationship between the child and the access parent, (c) the desirability of maximizing contact between the child and both parents, (d) the views of the child, (e) the custodial parent’s reason for moving only where it is relevant to that parent’s ability to meet the needs of the child, (f) the disruption to the child that would result from a change in custody, and (g) the disruption to the child consequent on a removal from family, schools and the community he or she has come to know.
Parental conduct, however meritorious or reprehensible, does not enter the analysis unless it relates to the ability of the parent to meet the needs of the child. (See Gordon v. Goertz (supra) at paragraph 21.) APPLICATION OF THE RELEVANT FACTORS TO THIS CASE Factors A and B. Existing Custody and Access Arrangements (i) The Law Re the Existing Custody Arrangements and the Importance of the Views of the Primary Caregiver or Psychological Parent
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