WA Can mental health be used against a parent in custody case?

[Callmekayte]

Hi, a family member of mine is going through divorce and custody battles etc. and her ex is trying to use her mental health issues as a way to get full custody of the kids. She suffers from quite bad depression but has never been violent to anyone, takes her medicine and is an excellent mother.

He is dragging things up from a couple of years ago before she was diagnosed and medicated and basically had 2 bad nervous breakdowns in the one year, he keeps telling her that he'll get full custody and she'll only get supervised visits with the kids because he's gonna tell the court she's unstable.

She is absolutely freaking out and is unable to afford a lawyer. Would the courts actually consider removing custody based on what her ex says?

 

[sammy01]

can mental health be used against you? yes... If it impacts on capacity. A paranoid schizophrenic who refuses treatment, is unable to maintain the basics and wears a hat covered in aluminum foil.. Bad look. Courts will have issues.

Someone who has a mental health condition, admits it, seeks treatment and is living in the real world.. NO PROBLEM.

 

[Callmekayte]

It is treated and she has supported documentation from psychologists, starting to think the ex is just playing mind games.

 

[AllForHer]

Gasp, an ex playing mind games? Unheard of!

Contrary to popular opinion, the Court is a place where mind games come to die. Yes, your ex can bring up all of your sister's past challenges in mental health, but unless he can establish that mum poses an unacceptable risk of harm to the children, the Court is going to put next to no weight in the ex's complaints.

These judges aren't idiots. They're logical and reasonable and they are very sharp about what matters. Tell me, which is worse - the parent with a mental health condition who is being treated, or the parent with a mental health condition who is not?