In the UK, child arrangements law, previously known as Custody or Residence, where a child should live and when they should spend time with the parent they do not live with, after divorce or separation.
Agreeing and arranging contact between separated parents and children is challenging even in the best of times, however, during this global pandemic it has become even more difficult and we have seen that arrangements that may have worked before having broken down. Every parent wants to give their children stability, security and close, reliable relationships.
Joint living arrangements can be infuriating and stressful, especially if the relationship with your partner is strained. Common issues include parenting differences, financial help, responsibility and keeping to the length of the agreed time. This can lead to conflict between the two parents, which ultimately can impact your children’s overall emotional wellbeing and make them feel uncomfortable.
Co-parenting Legal Advice
A common parental preference is for a child to live jointly with each parent, enabling the child to spend an equal amount of time with each parent such as 1 week with the Mother and 1 week with the Father. This option also allows both parents to participate in any relevant decision making which affects the child. However, for many families, this is not the right option and a different agreement can be agreed for a child to live with one parent and spend time with the other.
If both parents are unable to decide amicably on what living arrangements are best for their child after mediation, courts will then decide on the outcome. This can result in all manner of outcomes, such as the children splitting their time equally, or children spending weekends with one parent or even the exclusion of one parent- this would generally only happen if the relationship would negatively affect the child after the individual parent’s assessment.
Child Arrangement Order Help
(formerly known as Custody or Residence)
The legal team at Eddowes Perry and Osbourne can help represent you when putting a child arrangement in place. As a member of Resolution, we follow a Code of Practice that promotes a non-confrontational approach and all our family team aims to work in this manner.
We will work with you to discuss a realistic, ideal situation and to achieve an outcome as close to that as possible, factoring in mediation if required too. Our goal is to put together a plan to avoid conflict and resentment on both sides, helping you to put the child’s needs first.
Lawyers to help with Child Living Arrangements after Divorce
If you need help getting things back on track or if you have noticed that your child arrangements are just not working, contact David Smith on 0121 686 9444 or dasvid.smith@e-p-o.co.uk to discuss how we can help.
David can now also offer face-to-face, Zoom or telephone appointments to suit your needs.