Issues in relation to Children
Issues relating to the care of children
Where children are to live (also known as residence or custody)
Contact arrangements for children (also known as access)
Specific parenting issues of any kind
Applications to move children permanently out of the UK
We understand that child arrangements are one of the most difficult things to decide on the breakdown of a relationship. We also understand that no two families are alike. Our partners provide expert advice in relation to all areas of private children’s law, working with you towards a child-focused outcome.
We believe that a child’s parents are best placed to make decisions regarding that child’s care. However, we recognise this is not always possible. We can help you to reach innovative solutions that work for your family whilst remaining out of Court. Equally, we will always protect your interests where the Courts are involved, supporting and guiding you through the Court process, and ensuring that you have the best representation possible.
“…an excellent boutique practice with a high level of skill amongst its practitioners”
The Courts will only become involved on the application of one party where an agreement cannot be reached between the parents regarding the care of a child. The Court will always have as their overriding objective the welfare of the child concerned, whether they are deciding with whom a child is to live and spend time, or dealing with more specific issues.
The court has the power to make orders (now called child arrangement and specific issue orders) that regulate issues including the following:
- with whom a child is to live,
- where a child is to live,
- any arrangement dealing with whom a child is to spend time or otherwise have contact (including whether that contact be indirect or supervised, where that is necessary for safety reasons), and
- where a child is to go to school, and
- any other issue relating to the wellbeing of a child on which the parents cannot agree (including religious and medical issues).
The issues above used to be dealt with by ‘residence’ and ‘contact’ orders, but those have now been replaced with the child arrangement orders above.
The Court also has the power to grant relocation applications where one parent wishes to move abroad with a child, and this is opposed by someone else with parental responsibility. We have extensive experience of acting for clients who wish to move abroad and permanently remove a child from the jurisdiction, or who do not agree that it is in the child’s best interest for such a move to take place.
We can also provide expert advice in relation to the legal issues arising from fertility, including the use of a sperm donor or overseas surrogate.