Arrangements for Children
Minimising any upset and disruption for children should be the priority of separating parents. You and your ex should adopt a child-focussed approach on separation and aim to agree the arrangements for your children from the outset. If you are able to do this, perhaps with our help, there will usually be no need for any formal legal process.
If the arrangements for your children cannot be agreed with your ex, then as a last resort an application for a Child Arrangements Order may need to be made to the Court. A Child Arrangements Order can specify which parent the child or children are to live with and the amount of time they are to spend with the other parent. The Court may decide that the children should live with both parents (a ‘shared live with’ order), however it doesn’t always follow that this means the children live with each parent 50% of the time.
When deciding whether to make a Child Arrangements Order and in what terms, the child or children’s welfare must be the paramount consideration of the Court. The Court has to take into account a number of factors contained in a ‘welfare checklist’. Depending on the age, maturity and understanding of the child or children concerned, this may include consideration of their wishes and feelings.
The Court works on the general principle that it is in a child’s best interests to spend regular time with both parents. It is very rare therefore for a Court to decide that a parent should not spend time with their child or children.
Whatever the living arrangements for your children, you and your ex are both likely to have ‘parental responsibility’ for them. This means that you should both be involved in all major decisions concerning their upbringing, for example in relation to schooling, or health.
Sometimes discrete issues arise in relation to children of a relationship, even long after parents have separated. For example, one parent may wish to move to a different part of the UK with the children, or the parents may be unable to agree on the school the child or children are to attend. We can work with you to try and find a solution to such issues and can represent you on an application to the Court should non-Court dispute resolution methods fail and Court action become necessary.
You and your ex should be aware that special considerations apply to taking a child out of the country, whether for a holiday or permanently and more often than not, the consent of the other parent is required.
For more information or advice from our Solicitors please contact us.
