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THE Family law firm for England and Wales

Children

All children cases are private ie: only those who are allowed to be in court are allowed in court so there is no public gallery.

Private Proceedings in this context however are those children cases which do not involve Public Authorities. In other words it is usually the parents and possibly extended family who are involved.

Whether you are married cohabiting or a child your self it is never wise to under estimate the high priority the courts give to children. . There are 2 important features of the Children Act. Firstly, in any family case where a question arises regarding the welfare of the children the court can make any orders available to them if it is in the best interest of the children. Secondly the welfare of the children is paramount. Because of this it is the child's right to have contact with the absent parent and not the other way round.

CONTACT

The courts starting point is that the child should have contact (access) to the absent parent because it is usually in the best interest of the children. Therefore if you wish to prevent contact then it is for you to prove to the court on going contact is not in the child's best interest. This will be difficult in most cases although in some contact will be refused e.g.; where the child has been harmed by the absent parent. The latest cases deal with domestic violence and whether a child who has witnessed violence in the home should have contact to the perpetrator parent.

There are many aspects to contact and they can be supervised, Indirect or even have conditions

Parents who refuse to comply with a court order can be taken to court for a penal notice for enforcement

RESIDENCE

Most people know this as custody but because it is the child's right so the orders say the child shall reside with X

Thankfully because of the stresses involved parents do come to a decision quite early on with whom the child would be best. Whether one parent can provide better financially then the other is not a fair nor a sound basis for an argument. A guide has been the very young babies should be with their mothers children should not be split, and children do not live with the mother automatically

Each case must be looked at in depth and upon it's own set of facts

PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

Parent who are married to each other both have parental responsibility. Unmarried father's don' t have this and can only acquire this by a court order, by marrying the childs mother or by agreement of the mother. The agreement needs to be witnessed by a court clerk.New laws now say that if the father who is not married to the childs mother but has his name on the birth certificate with the mother present also acquires parental responsibility for those children born after December 2003

This does not allow absent fathers to interfere with the day to day upbringing of the child. However it does allow the father to have a say in the important issues of a child' s upbringing e.g.: change in school, religion ,surname and whether a child can be taken abroad permanently. If an absent father who was unmarried to the child' s mother has regular contact to the child and can show commitment then the court will usually grant parental responsibility. It is an acknowledgement that he is the father and that he has some part to play in the upbringing of his child. Any disagreements about major discussions can be resolved by the court

COURT PROCEDURES

If there is a dispute about children then the court will attempt to resolve the issues

However the court will only make orders if it has to and so encourages parties to resolve the matter between themselves. The court is seen as a last resort.

Once applications are issued the court will list the first date as a conciliation hearing and a court welfare officer is usually present to see if the disagreements can be resolved. If not the court will if there are welfare issues involved direct that the welfare officer should prepare a report and make recommendations. This will then be resolved by the court if not by agreement at the final hearing which can be 4-5 months later. The court does also have power to deal with some aspects earlier if it is an emergency

However as with all the information each case is different and you should contact us for specific advice

Phone : 0151 522 3410

Fax: 0151 522 3411

E-mail: legalteam@solicitorhelp.com