CHILD ARRANGEMENTS
Any relationship breakdown and divorce is difficult to handle, but when children are involved, the emotions are inevitably heightened. We can help in all aspects of child contact disputes and know everything that you need to know about your rights and responsibilities. We promise to translate any legal jargon and guide you in asepcts you may not have even heard of before or considered. We can guide you through the following situations:
- Child Contact
- Residence
- Parental Responsibility
- Leave to Remove
- Parental Alienation
- Child Maintenance
- Social Services Conferences
HELP WITH CHILD ARRANGEMENTS ORDERS
When it comes to children, the winning formula is ensuring both parents are acting in the best interests of the child. If you and your ex can agree on child contact arrangements, there will be no need to attend court. We can quickly take your agreement and turn it into a document that the court will highly likely accept, seal it in the form of a court order and send it back to you. This is known as a Consent Order.
We will diligently write one up, prepare all the necessary documentation for it too for review and sign it off by the court.
WHAT ARE CHILD ARRANGEMENT ORDERS
Applications for child arrangements orders are usually between private individuals, under s8 Children Act 1989. Where someone seeks order in respect of a child who is in the care of the local authority it will be considered a public law matter.
In private law cases, the child is not a party to the proceedings unless particular circumstances make the case complex. The court can request a welfare report under s7 Children Act 1989, either from the local authority or from a Children and Family Reporter who is an officer appointed by Cafcass. The report will usually inform the court of the child’s wishes and feelings, but the officer will make a recommendation based on what they think is in the child’s best interests rather than just report on the child’s wishes.
In some circumstances, the court may order that the child be made a party to the proceedings. A Children’s Guardian (who again is an officer of Cafcass) is appointed to represent the child in the proceedings and the Guardian will appoint a solicitor. If the child and Guardian do not agree on what recommendations to make to the court and the child is of sufficient age and understanding, they will be able to instruct a solicitor directly to represent their views and the Guardian will present their views to the court.
Certain categories of people are entitled to make an application for child arrangements order under s8 without having to seek permission from the court first, and they are:
1. The parent, guardian or special guardian of a child;
2. Any person who has parental responsibility;
3. Anyone who holds a residence order in respect of the child;
4. Any party to a marriage or civil partnership where the child is a child of the family;
5. Anyone with whom the child has lived for at least three years;
6. Anyone who has obtained the consent of:
a) a residence order;
b) the local authority if the child is in their care; or
c) everyone who has parental responsibility for the child.
Other people can make an application to the court for permission to issue an application for a child arrangements order. In deciding whether to give permission the court will take into account, amongst other things:
1. The nature of the application;
2. The applicant’s connection with the child;
3. The risk there might be of the proposed application disrupting the child’s life to such an extent that they should be harmed by it.
It is via this route that wider family members such as grandparents can apply for orders in respect of their grandchildren.