Case No. ZC21P00327

60.The Mother’s proposal is that she should move with the children to a town just outside Boston, Massachusetts. She has not settled upon a specific locale but is proposing to look at properties for purchase in one of three towns that she has identified close to Boston. She proposes searching for a house in a safe, quiet neighbourhood with easy access to a town centre and amenities. The property that she would like to purchase would have a minimum of 3 bedrooms (if possible more to enable the father and other family members to visit) and have outside space for the children to play in. The mother has provided details of a number of houses which were on the market at the time that she made her statement and which are priced at between $675,100 and $1.35M. She has also provided details of similar properties which are available for rent and which could be leased if she moved with the children before the purchase had taken place.61.If I permit relocation the mother proposes that the children should attend schools within the US public school system. The choice of school will depend upon precisely where they live; the mother’s evidence is that if they live within the catchment area of a particular school they will be entitled to a place there. The mother thus proposes that the available school or schools will play a part in the selection of an appropriate property. The mother has provided details of the elementary, middle and high schools in the areas in which she proposes to search for a property and I note that that the majority of these are highly ranked in various school league tables.62.As I have mentioned the children have a heart condition which requires monitoring and treatment. Their existing consultant has offered to make a referral to an identified consultant at Boston Children’s Hospital and has confirmed that he would have no concerns with the care provided there, confirming that the relevant unit in Boston “is one of the leading centres worldwide” for this condition. The mother has confirmed that her employer will provide private medical insurance which will cover the children.63.In terms of other arrangements, the mother has proposed that the children’s existing nanny should accompany them to assist with the transition, and her evidence is that this would be permissible for a three month period without a need for a special visa.64.The mother points to a number of friends who live in the Boston area whom she says would provide friendship and support to her and the children. One of her brothers already lives close to the area to which the mother wishes to move and her parents, although presently living in South Carolina, may move back to the Boston area and would commit to spending a significant period of time with the mother and children in any event.65.In terms of contact with the father, the mother’s preferred position is that the father moves with them. Although she recognises that once there they may decide to divorce or live separately, she would like the father to live nearby so that the children could spend time with him regularly. In her evidence she states:“whatever the outcome of these proceedings and [the father’s] decision, my priority will always be the physical and emotional wellbeing of the girls, of which their relationship with [the father] is a primary factor.”In their final submissions on behalf of the Mother Ms Eaton and Mr Barwell O’Connor emphasised that the mother cares deeply about ensuring the children’s paternal bond remains strong quoting from her oral evidence:“I will do my damndest to make sure they see him and love him and play with him and visit him and he is welcome for every school play […] I want him to see them as much as possible to see plays and recitals and [everything]”.66.Assuming that the father does not relocate with the mother and children, the mother proposes that the children should spend time (between 4-6 weeks per year is suggested) with the father in the USA when they are in school, for Thanksgiving and during the shorter school holidays in the winter and spring breaks and that the children should spend time with the father in the UK during the summer break (about 5 weeks in total). The mother proposes alternating Christmas so that one year is spent with the mother and her family in the USA (although the mother has indicated that the father would be welcome to come too) and the next is spent with the father and his family in the UK.67.In the event that a relocation is permitted the father’s position in relation to the mother’s proposals is that where possible he would travel to the USA to spend long weekends with the children during term time. He would agree to the children spending alternate Christmases in the UK and USA and would consider spending time in America in those years when the children were staying there. He seeks that the children spend a minimum of 6 weeks of their summer vacation in the UK with him. He would wish to spend one half of the Thanksgiving holiday in the USA with the children and asks that the children spend the entirety of alternate Mid-Winter and Spring break holidays in London. 68.The father, however, has a number of criticisms of the mother’s proposals. Given that both parents would need to rehouse themselves in suitable properties in which the children can live whilst they are with them, he considers that the budget that will be available to do so means that the properties whose details have been provided by the mother are not realistically attainable. He also disputes whether the mother would wish to live in the Boston suburbs as she now proposes. He alleges that the mother has downplayed the demands of her job which, he says, will require her to put in much longer hours and travel more often that she has indicated would be the case. Ultimately though he is concerned that:“The effect of a move to the USA, a change in schools, a fundamental change to their day to day arrangements, a severance of their day to day relationship with their father at the same time as understanding that their parents’ relationship has come to an end would have an enormous effect upon the girls’ welfare and risk the possibility of harm to the girls.”