Worried you might lose your children?

If you have children and you are getting divorced, separated, or your cohabition is breaking up, we can advise you on issues relating to children including:-

• How to secure financial support for your children
• How to apply for custody of your children
• How to stay involved in your children’s health, education, and welfare
• How to prevent your children being taken from you to live elsewhere

As far as possible, we help you reach an amicable agreement together over arrangements for your children which is always in their best interests. However, where necessary, we will apply to the Courts for appropriate Orders.    Some examples of how we can assist you are below.

Parental Responsibilty Agreements

Each parent can generally exercise their parental responsibility independently of the other and there is normally no requirement  for parents to consult with the other prior to exercising their parental responsibility. 

A common example of this would be where one parent takes a child abroad maybe even just for a holiday without the consent of the other parent/guardian. If this does happen we can help make the relevant emergency application through the Court for the return of the child or children.

Effectively, parental responsibility provides the holder the right to be involved in the day to day management of the child's life. Practically, the holders of parental responsibility are entitled to be given information regarding children’s education and welfare.

The position for unmarried parents is different. Unmarried mothers have parental responsibility for their child. An unmarried father can acquire parental responsibility by either:

• Entering into a parental responsibility agreement with the mother
• Obtaining an order of the Court
• Marrying the  mother of his child
• By ensuring his name is on the birth certificate, either originally  or by re-registration of the child’s birth to include the father’s name

Residence orders

Residence orders are settled by the Court and dictate with whom the child or children should live. It is rare for a Court to separate siblings, but if it is in the children's best interests, they will do so.  The Courts will now quite often make  “joint” or “shared” residence orders, so that in effect the child or children will have two  homes.  The order can set out exactly when each child lives in each home, or it can be set out in general terms if the Court is confident that both parties can agree.

Contact orders

Contact orders settle how and when a child should have contact with the person (usually the parent) they do not live with. Contact can take many forms, including letters and emails, telephone contact, visiting contact and staying contact. Where there are concerns about the level of care the adult wishing to have contact can give, the Court may order a period of supervised contact.  This is where  another adult is present to ensure the child or children do not come into any harm.

Applying for Custody

This is often seen as the last resort because you can only apply for custody when you have ensured that all avenues of amicable agreement have been exhausted. It is important to remember that a custody battle can be a long drawn out series of hearings and, throughout this, your children will be fully aware of what is happening. They will have to speak to the Court welfare officer during this time, too.

You will need to instruct a family law solicitor who will instruct you on the best course of action. If there are no mitigating circumstances in the custody request, such as domestic violence, you should reasonably expect the process to take some time. 

When you are given the date for your custody hearing, you will be required to appear before the Family Panel – which consists of three magistrates – and explain your reasons for wanting custody of your child/children. Your partner will also have to do this and the Family Panel will put a series of questions to you in relation to how you think you can cope with the children on your own, why you think you are the parent to whom the court should grant custody, and also if you are able to support the children financially? 

The Court Welfare Officer is given the task of assessing your status at home and also how you interact and look after your children. They will make their report and submit their recommendations to the Family Panel, and may on the day of the custody hearing be asked to present their findings to all those present.  The Court Welfare Officer may also have to speak with your children to try to find out who they want to live with and the reasons why. All of this information is documented and presented to the Family Panel for review. 

You should be mindful of the fact that the Family Proceedings Court is a Court of law and the magistrates operating therein are doing so in accordance with the law. With this in mind the Family Panel’s decision is legal and binding and – unless you appeal it – you are required by law to adhere to the terms and conditions of the custody agreement.

Adoption Orders

When an Adoption Order is made, the child’s legal status within their natural family is terminated and they become a full legal member of a new adoptive family.

These orders may be “closed” whereby the natural family have no further involvement in the child’s life or in some cases, it is appropriate to make an “open” Adoption Order, whereby there is some form of continued contact between the child and some or all members of their natural family.

Adoption Orders aim to provide a stable family environment for a child hopefully with a successful integration into the new family life

Care proceedings

Our work with children includes care proceedings brought by the social services.  Social services may tell you that they are going to start care proceedings, but if they do not, you will find out when you receive a notice from the court telling you when and where the first hearing will be.

The people who hold the parental responsibility of the child have the right to decide how a child is raised and cared for.

Generally, we represent parents and children in these proceedings but sometimes we represent grandparents or foster parents. Our approach is to focus on the welfare of the child and to help you understand how the Courts make decisions in these types of cases.

Helena Downing, Kevin Tomlinson and Diane Gunn are all on the Law Society's Children’s panel. Only solicitors who meet the Law Society’s exacting accreditation requirements are permitted to join the Children Panel and represent children in public law care proceedings.  Your skills, knowledge and experience are rigorously and independently assessed in order to achieve this accreditation status. This means that you know you are dealing with the very best .

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