Solicitors for Child Custody & Child Arrangement Orders

Clients going through a separation often ask us about custody of their children. It is not uncommon to hear parents say they want custody of their children, or to ask for advice about custody when seeking legal advice.

In the UK, we no longer use the terms child custody, or access. The terms custody and access for children are very outdated and haven’t been used since the 1980’s.

In 1989, the Children Act retired the terms custody and access, thought to be obsolete. Instead, the act refers to residence and contact to describe where children would live and who they would spend time with after their parents had separated. The act also introduced the concept of parental responsibility.

In 2014, the terms residence and contact were further replaced with child arrangements. We now refer only to child arrangements to describe the arrangements for children after the breakdown of a relationship. Child arrangements can be used to describe where the children will live and how much time they should spend with each parent. They can be voluntary arrangements, where the parents agree between themselves what the arrangements for their children should be. Or they can be formal Child Arrangements Orders, agreed or decided by the Family Court.

If you would like further advice or assistance regarding arrangements for your children following the breakdown of a relationship, please telephone Rowlinsons Solicitors and ask to speak with the family department.

We are often asked by separating parents about “shared care” when talking about arrangements for the care of children following the breakdown of a relationship. It is often a misunderstood term, and can cause confusion and arguments if not properly understood.

Sharing the care of your children following the breakdown of a relationship often means different things to different people. For some, it means that the time the children spend with each parent is split exactly equally “50:50 shared care”. In this situation, the children live half the time with one parent, and half the time with the other.

There is no actual legal definition of “shared care” in England and Wales. Where two parents have separated, and they are unable to agree on the arrangements for the care of their children, an application for a Child Arrangements order can be made. The Court will consider what is in the children’s best interests, and it is assumed to be best for children to have a relationship with both parents provided that it is safe and appropriate and there are no risks of harm to the child. There is no assumption currently that children should spend equal time with both parents on separation, although it is sometimes the case that one parent may ask the Court to make a shared care arrangement. It is important that parents are clear on what it is they are asking the Court to consider, and using phrases like shared care, or custody aren’t always overly helpful.

If you would like further advice or assistance regarding arrangements for your children following the breakdown of a relationship, please telephone Rowlinsons Solicitors and ask to speak with the family department.

Child maintenance is a financial contribution that one parent makes to the other following a separation or relationship breakdown. This amount of money is designed to cover the living expenses of the child, and is often used to mitigate different financial circumstances between the divorcing or separating parents.

The amount of child maintenance one parent pays to the other can be agreed privately, which is often the simplest approach. However, if the relationship between the parents has become unamicable, they may choose to apply to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) to quantify, schedule, and arrange payments.

It is possible for a parent of a child who is under 16 years of age to change a child’s name, including their surname. A change of name deed, or Deed Poll, can be prepared, and everyone with parental responsibility would need to sign to confirm their consent. If one or more of these individuals do not provide their consent, an application to Court for a specific issue order may be needed.

To speak to someone about changing the name of a child under 16, please telephone Rowlinsons Solicitors and ask to speak with the family department.

Grandparents don’t have legal rights to see their grandchildren. If there has been a family breakdown, and the grandparents are finding it difficult to see their grandchildren, the first step would be to see whether arrangements can be agreed as a family. Sometimes mediation can be helpful to achieve this.

If an agreement cannot be reached, it might be possible to consider making an application to Court for a child arrangements order. The process for grandparents usually differs from the process parents take, as grandparents have the added step first of requiring leave of the court to apply. If leave, or permission, is granted, the grandparents can then go on to pursue their application for a child arrangements order.

If you want to talk about a Child Arrangements Order, or to consider whether you wish to apply for one, please telephone Rowlinsons Solicitors and ask to speak with the family department.

A Child Arrangements Order is a type of Order made by a Court relating to a child. The Order can specify where and with whom a child lives, when they should spend time with each parent, and how the arrangements should work.

It is sometimes possible for other people to apply for Child Arrangements Orders for a child, but anyone other than the child’s parents may need permission from the Court first before they are allowed to make an application.

If you want to talk about a Child Arrangements Order, or to consider whether you wish to apply for one, please telephone Rowlinsons Solicitors and ask to speak with the family department.

A Specific Issue Order is a type of Order made relating to a child and how the child is being brought up. For example, the Order could relate to what school they go to, decisions about their religion, or what name the child should have.

It is also possible to apply for an Order to prevent certain things from happening, such as to prevent a child being removed from a school, or having their name changed. This is called a Prohibited Steps Order.

If you want to talk about issues relating to a child, or to consider whether you wish to apply for an Order, please telephone Rowlinsons Solicitors and ask to speak with the family department.

Parental Responsibility is defined by Section 3(1) of the Children Act 1989 as “all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities, and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property"

Parental Responsibility is the parent’s responsibilities towards their child, such as the duty to provide a home, and maintain and protect a child. All those who have Parental Responsibility for a child are able to have a say about certain decisions relating to a child, such as consenting to certain medical treatments, determining the child’s education, choosing, registering or changing a child’s name, determining their religion etc. Parental Responsibility does not give a parent automatic rights to have contact with a child, or to know where a child is living.

If you want to know more about Parental Responsibility for a child, please telephone Rowlinsons Solicitors and ask to speak with the family department.

A birth mother automatically has parental responsibility for their baby. If a biological father is married to the mother at the time of the birth, then he also automatically acquires this. If a biological father is unmarried, he will only acquire parental responsibility if he is also named on the child’s birth certificate.

There are lots of reasons why sometimes a father isn’t named on a birth certificate. It does not mean you are not the father of the child. There are ways you can later acquire this, such as: -

1. Through a parental responsibility agreement signed by both parents;

2. Asking the Court to make a parental responsibility Order.

It is also important to remember that being the mother or father of a child doesn’t give you particular “rights”. As a parent, you have certain responsibilities to your child, such as to provide for them financially, emotionally and physically. But you do not have any particular right to see your child or spend time with them. It is the child’s right to have a relationship with their parents, provided it is safe to do so, and that is a right protected by law. If two parents separate, neither of them has any greater rights or ability to make decisions than the other. Wherever possible, parents should try and agree arrangements for the best interests of their children and should always be encouraged and supported to communicate, co-operate and co-parent.