OUR AREAS OF LAW

If you’re going through a divorce, one of the most important things to work out is how much time you and your ex-partner will have with your children. 

Child access is covered as part of a Child Arrangements Order, which specifies who the child will live and spend time with.

We are ready to advise you on your rights and responsibilities when it comes to maintaining a relationship with a child following a divorce.

The law now assumes that a child will continue to have a full and meaningful relationship with both parents following divorce, unless that would be harmful to the child. But we can also help other family members to have or to maintain a relationship, including:

• Step-parents
• Civil partners
• Grandparents
• Extended family such as an aunts or uncles

We can help you through this hard time. We’re known for taking a no-nonsense approach to sorting out the arrangements for children.

We’ll be honest with you from the start of your case about your chances of achieving what you want (many solicitors will tell you what you what to hear, which may leave you disappointed down the line). Often we help people who have received bad advice, or whose corner has not been fought.

Family mediation can be a less confrontational and more cost-effective way to resolve a dispute. We can discuss your situation and if mediation is right for you.

If you decide to go ahead with mediation, you can benefit from our cost effective mediation support service If you decide to if you decide to represent yourself at that stage. 

Child contact disputes (technically known as “Children Act proceedings”, commonly known by a variety of names such as “child custody cases”) can have life-changing consequences for children and parents. At the simplest end, these disputes involve disagreements about who a child should live with. At the more complex end, these disputes can involve allegations of domestic abuse, parental alienation, and serious welfare or safeguarding concerns about the child involved.

Inevitably, Children Act proceedings are amongst the most stressful and emotionally draining types of dispute that a person could find themselves in. Despite the intensity of the emotions being felt, the key to success is clear, strategic thinking, a practical approach, and, above all, a deep understanding of the overarching principle that the welfare of the child is a paramount consideration in such proceedings. A barrister, who is a specialist family lawyer, can help to achieve a successful outcome.

Children Act proceedings usually involve dealing with statutory bodies such as the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service ("CAFCASS"), and sometimes the local authority. As expert family lawyers, we understand how these bodies think and operate.

In such cases, the Family Court commonly makes one or more of the following kinds of orders: 

• Child Arrangements Order: the Family Court has the power to make an order concerning who a child is to live with, and what level of contact they are to have.
• Specific Issue Order: where a child’s parents or guardian disagree about a specific decision in relation to an important aspect of a child’s life (e.g., where they should go to school), the Family Court has the power to decide the issue.
• Special Guardianship Order: where a parent is unable to care for a child, the Family Court may give parental responsibility to a different person, often a relative. Special Guardianship Orders allocate parental responsibility without having the permanent effect that Adoption Orders do.

We are able to help with any aspect of Children Act proceedings, including: advising on strategy, preparing applications and documents for submission to the court, preparing witness statements, and providing representation in the Family Court.