Let be honest here, IG had little choice about where the kids stayed once he decided he had to leave the marriage. He told her well in advance what was happening and she chose not to believe him. She wasn't going to leave the family house. If he had taken the girls from the home, he would been ordered to take them back as although she migt be an emotional abuser, ( not known at the time) , she was not and never has been shown to be physically abusing them. He offered a very fair divorce package and she refused it. All this drama is entirely down to Alice.
He was not passive once he became aware of the emotionally abusive relationship he was in. It takes being away from such a relationship to see it for it was. The Australian work was the catalyst.