In Brief
A mother challenged an interim custody order favouring the father of their 12-year-old daughter in a matrimonial dispute. The mother alleged she suffered from paranoid schizophrenia; the father alleged the mother treated the child cruelly and denied him access. Three independent counsellor assessments and the child's own statements consistently showed she preferred living with her father and received better care from him. The mother's allegations of sexual abuse were unsupported. The Supreme Court affirmed the father's custody, holding that the child's articulate preference, professional assessments, and demonstrated parental care outweigh unsubstantiated allegations, with the mother's visitation restricted to supervised settings.
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