Habitual Residence: Objective facts beat claimed agreement that residence is temporary

Habitual Residence: Objective facts beat claimed agreement that residence is temporary

Maynard v. Maynard, USDC E. Mich. 3/21/07 is one of those cases where a family gave every indication of living in another country, but one spouse later claimed they were only doing so provisionally, with an agreement that they could move back to the U.S. from Australia in a year if it didn’t work out. That’s what the mother claimed when she took the kids back to Michigan, their former home state, after the family lived in Australia for 10 months. Federal Judge Patrick J. Duggan said that whether you look solely at the facts from the child’s perspective, as in a long line of cases going back to Friedrich and Evans-Feder, or consider the parents’ shared intent as in the more recent Mozes case, Australia was these children’s habitual residence. As that was the only issue in the case, the children were sent back to Australia. Even if there had been an agreement to come back to the U.S. if the wife didn’t like Australia, such an agreement would not have kept Australia from being the habitual residence, the judge wrote. Such a nebulous agreement “for an indefinite period” is fundamentally different from an agreement that a stay in a country is only for a certain defined time and purpose, he said. (Such as the family’s earlier presence in Michigan, which was pursuant to a five-year employment contract with an Australian company.)

Source: International Family Law News and Analysis,judgment.

Things to Read, Watch & Listen

NSW Surrogacy FAIL: What Lawyers Got Wrong and How to Avoid It

Surrogacy journeys should be joyous and smooth pathways to parenthood, but unfortunately, legal missteps can turn them into complex, frustrating ordeals.

Jenny’s Bid for Reproductive Freedom

“Jenny” is a single woman living in Western Australia. Five years ago, she decided to do what many single women have done, and freeze her eggs for possible later use.

Monash IVF Mix-Up & Fertility Law Shake-Up in Queensland

In recent months, Queensland has seen two major incidents that have sent ripples through the assisted reproductive technology (ART) community, highlighting the delicate nature of fertility treatments and the urgent need for thoughtful regulation.

Family Law Section Law Council of Australia Award
Member of Queensland law society
Family law Practitioners Association
International Academy of Family Lawyers - IAFL
Mediator Standards Board