Martha Gray in Re S (A Child) (Relocation and Change of Residence) [2025] EWHC 3453 (Fam)
26th Jan 2026 | News
Martha Gray, instructed by Duncan Lewis, represented the applicant mother in Re S (A Child) (Relocation and Change of Residence) [2025] EWHC 3453 (Fam), a contested international relocation case arising from the father’s unilateral retention of the child in England and a near five-year rupture of the mother–child relationship.
The mother sought an order for S, aged almost nine and with significant additional needs, to move to live with her in France. The application was opposed by the father and was not supported by the Guardian, who relied on S’s apparent stability, schooling and specialist provision in England and raised concerns about disruption if he were to relocate.
In a decision described by the court as very finely balanced, Mr Justice Harrison accepted the mother’s case, finding that S’s emotional needs and his need for a consistently emotionally attuned primary carer outweighed the risks associated with relocation. The court ordered that S move to live with his mother in France, with a delayed and carefully structured transition and a detailed child arrangements order.
