Welfare Arrangements for Children

When a relationship breaks down, unfortunately, painful decisions often have to be made in relation to arrangements for the welfare of the parties’ children.

We advise that in the first instance, parties try and reach an agreement in relation to arrangements for children. An agreement generally gives both parties an element of satisfaction and an arrangement that they can live with. If however parties cannot reach agreement, then it is important that legal advice is sought.

If legal advice is sought, firstly we would need to establish who has Parental Responsibility. Once it is established that a party has Parental Responsibility, they can apply to the Court for one of the following orders to be made under the Children Act.

Under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989, the Court has the power to make the following orders:

• A Child Arrangement Order - this may specify which parent the child shall live with - a 'Live With Order', or specify the time that the child spends with the non-resident parent i.e. 'Contact'.
• Defined Contact - an order specifying a minimum level of contact that must take place between a child and their non-resident parent.
• Specific Issue - a decision relating to a specific matter in a child's life such as whether a parent can formally change their surname.
  
• Prohibited Steps - an order to prevent a parent from doing something with the child such as removing them from the jurisdiction without the consent of the other parent.

Please contact our Family Law Team by telephone on 01392 209209. If you choose to email, please provide a contact telephone number and we will call you at the earliest opportunity.

Nick Dudman: 01392 209210. nick.dudman@rundlewalker.com
Susan Jury: 01392 209212. sue.jury@rundlewalker.com