The most important consideration is what is in the child’s best interests. When a court decides an issue about the upbringing of a child, the child’s welfare will be paramount. The court will take into account various things (these are known as the “welfare checklist”), including: The child’s own wishes (but these depends on how old they are ...

Yes. If you have “parental responsibility”, you will have a right to a say in how your children are brought up. If you cannot reach agreement with your ex-spouse about a particular issue concerning your children, you can apply to the court for a “specific issue order”. Eg: if you cannot agree about where they ...

When a child is born, his or her mother automatically has “parental responsibility”. This means she can make important decisions in a child’s life. This can include making decisions on issues such as health, education and welfare. However, not all fathers have parental responsibility automatically. Whether they do will depend on them being listed on ...

The very first thing to do is to get legal advice from an expert family law solicitor. The law now presumes that each parent’s involvement in their child’s life will benefit them. However, the child’s best interests are always the priority of the courts, so the other parent may try to show that contact isn’t ...

Yes. This is known as “shared residence”. This can be arranged either by agreement between the parents or by a court order. It does not mean that the children have to spend exactly the same amount of time with each parent. Instead, the thinking behind it is that this reassures both parents that the law ...

No. The court will look carefully at which parent is best able to meet the child’s day to day physical and emotional needs, both now and in the future. The work commitments of one parent may make it more realistic and practical for the other parent to have primary care of the children. In the ...

It very much depends because each case and every family are different. In general terms, it is presumed that the parent that doesn’t live with the children should have involvement with and have regular contact with the children. However, there aren’t any set rules to determine the amount and frequency of contact. The test is ...

No. There is no standard or automatic frequency of contact. That said, the court in many cases orders child contact to take place on alternate weekends, to ensure that the children get to spend time with both parents. The pattern of contact will depend on what the best interests of your children are. The practicalities ...