This is the main piece of legislation which helps the Court reach a decision. It comes that the welfare of the child(ren) is paramount when deciding upon child arrangements/ making any other order. The act also sets out what is called ‘welfare checklist’ which is considered by the Court too. The welfare checklist and the welfare of the children well always be taken into consideration during negotiations and mediation as well.

• Living With (formally known as Residence) – determining where a child should live;
• Spending Time With (formally known as Contact) – when the non- resident parent sees the child;
• Specific Issue Order – an Order dealing with a specific issue, eg parental responsibility or choice of school;
• Prohibited Steps Order – an order prohibiting a party from doing something, eg removing a child from the jurisdiction.

Where Court proceedings are initiated, an independent Children and Family Court Advisor (CAFCASS) will become involved to carry out safeguarding checks and make initial recommendations to the Court about what steps should be taken. They may be asked to help you resolve the dispute or to help the Court decide. If Social Services have been involved in your dispute then they may be asked to prepare this report instead of CAFCASS.

If no agreement can be reached, even with the assistance of CAFCASS, then the Court may have to list the matter for a “final hearing”. This is where both parties give evidence outlining their position and the Court makes a decision as to what will happen. This is not ideal as the Court does not know your children and has only the CAFCASS officer and the evidence to rely on. Although final hearings are sometimes unavoidable, it is much better for all concerned if an agreement can be reached before this stage.

Save for urgent applications most parents within Court proceedings are directed by the Court to attend a Separated Parents Information Programme - known as a SPIP. Parents attend separately. The courses are group courses which last half a day and gives parents the opportunity of speaking to other parents going through similar issues and the emphasis of the programme is to focus parents on the rights and needs of children and children can be severely impacted by parental conflict.

The Court works on what is known as the “no order” principle. In other words the Court will not make an Order unless they feel it is absolutely necessary.

In cases where there are allegations of domestic abuse then the Court should be informed at the earliest opportunity of any incidents to be considered. Domestic abuse is not an automatic bar to contact with children but is a factor to be considered seriously by the Court when making a decision.

There is a specific procedure to be followed in cases where there are serious allegations of Domestic Violence or concerns regarding Child Protection. The Court may direct a Fact Finding Hearing that takes place prior to any substantive decisions regarding the care of children. It is imperative that you seek specialist legal advice.

It is the view of the Court that a child should retain the name it has on its birth certificate unless there are exceptional circumstances. Unless the non-resident parent therefore agrees to a name change in writing it is unlikely that a Court will consider such an application. Case law on this issue is clear that this applies to parents whether they have parental responsibility or not.

If you have a serious fear your child may be abducted then you should tell us as soon as possible. There are a number of preventative measures available such as obtaining child arrangements orders, only allowing supervised contact and prohibited steps orders (to prevent that step being taken). You should think about where your child’s passport is, what links the other party may have to other countries, or perhaps they may a history of not complying with orders.

Again, if you believe your child has been abducted you should inform the police and ourselves immediately. There are options available to us such as port alert systems, remedies under the Hague Convention amongst others which can assist in having your child safely returned. Websites and contacts providing assistance on this issue:

• reunite.org
• Child Abduction
• officialsolicitor.gov.uk/docs/haguecountries.doc
• International Child Abduction and Contact Unit – telephone 020 7911 7047 / 7045 and/or download the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit application form
• thefma.co.uk
• familymediationcouncil.org.uk

Parental Responsibility is not about ‘rights’ but about ‘responsibility’ for a child. Whilst any party with Parental Responsibility should be involved in decision making, it does not automatically mean that day to day decisions of the parent with care of the child should be interfered with.

All parties with Parental Responsibility should be involved in important life decisions, such as education, religion, medical treatment and in respect of the child’s name – i.e. one parent cannot just change the child’s name without the consent of the other parent, in they have Parental Responsibility.

Mothers automatically have Parental Responsibility for their child. This is not the case in relation to Fathers. Fathers automatically acquire Parental Responsibility upon marriage to the Mother.

If a child was born prior to 1st December 2003 and the parents are not married, the Father does not have Parental Responsibility. If born after that date, the Father can acquire Parental Responsibility, but only if they are listed as the child’s father on the birth certificate.

Parental Responsibility can be acquired as follows:

• By the Father being registered on the birth certificate.
• By agreement with the Mother. A form will then need to be completed as necessary and then sent to the Principal Registry of the Family Division in London.
• By an application to Court. Usually the Father will make an application to court for a Child Arrangements Order and this will include that he has obtained PR.