Our services: children and divorce
When a relationship ends in divorce, the welfare of any children involved is paramount, as is reflected in the Children Act 1989.
Most parents wish to put their differences aside to agree on the arrangements for where the children will live and how much time they will spend with the absent parent. However, this is likely to be a difficult process and the legal advice and experience of our family law specialists in Gloucester and Cirencester can be invaluable in helping to achieve a negotiated agreement.
The courts encourage parents to make arrangements between themselves and are unlikely to interfere in a voluntary agreement, as the law considers that these are more likely to succeed than those imposed on the parties.
If it does become necessary to take the matter to court, any decisions made will be in the best interests of the children. Our experts will provide the best possible legal advice and representation to help you through this stressful time.
The court is able to make orders that may:
- decide which parent a child will live with (residence order)
- decide how much contact an absent parent will have (contact order)
- prevent certain things from happening (a prohibited steps order)
- deal with issues including education, religion or change of name (specific issue order)
Where a parent is concerned that the other parent may try to abduct a child or take him or her out of the UK permanently, we can apply to the courts for a prohibited steps order, a residence order and/or a parental responsibility order, as appropriate in your case, to prevent this happening.
If a child has already been taken out of the country, we can advise you and take the appropriate steps to make an application for their return.
If the matter is brought before the court, the court will often appoint a Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service) officer to help resolve the dispute. The officer will meet with both parties and, depending on the child's age, try to establish their wishes and feelings, making recommendations in a written report to assist the court and the parties in moving towards a resolution.
Parental responsibility
Parental responsibility (PR) is loosely defined in law as the:
- rights
- duties
- powers
- responsibilities
- and authority
that a parent has in relation to a child. For example include being able to consent to medical treatment, having a say in the child's education and religion and consenting or objecting to a change of the child's name.
If the parents are married, both automatically have PR. If they are unmarried, only the mother automatically has PR. Unless the father's name is on the birth certificate and the child was born after 1 December 2003, he can only acquire PR by entering into a PR agreement with the mother or by a court order.
To successfully obtain a PR order, the father must show he has a degree of commitment to the child. We can advise you fully on all aspects of this.
For further details of our children and divorce legal advice and services, or to make an appointment, please call:
- Michael Brady at our Cirencester office on 01285 654875
- Anita Arora at our Gloucester office on 01452 508800
- or email enquiries@dfjlaw.co.uk