Sadly, it’s not uncommon for disputes to arise over child contact arrangements, where being denied access to your child can be heartbreaking, both for you and them. However, there are steps that can be taken to resolve any dispute that you have with the parent or guardian with care, ensuring that you’re able to maintain regular contact with your child moving forward.
Try to reach an agreement
Even if you have parental responsibility for a child but you do not live together, it does not mean you have an automatic right to spend time with them. There is no immediate legal right to contact for a parent. That said, a court will usually grant the non-resident parent access, unless there’s clear evidence that this will be detrimental to the child’s welfare.
In some cases, a carefully worded letter, explaining your point of view, as well as the view the court is likely to take to access, can help to persuade your ex to see your perspective, and to accept that continued contact is in the child’s best interests. By seeking expert advice from a family law specialist, your advisor can help to set out the legal position in writing, together with reassurance in respect of any concerns that your ex may have over granting you access.
If agreement can be reached in this way, your solicitor can draft the terms of that agreement in writing and ask the court to approve those terms. In this way, the agreement will become legally binding. Provided the court accepts that the terms of any consent order are in the child’s best interests, the order will be approved without the need for a court hearing.
Where the matter cannot be resolved informally or by way of an approved consent order, you may instead wish to invite your ex to try mediation, in this way helping you both to reach an out-of-court agreement that is acceptable for everyone without recourse to the litigation.
Apply for a Child Arrangements Order
If you’re unable to agree to contact, you can ask the courts to decide at a hearing. If this happens the result will be a Child Arrangements Order. This is a court order stipulating who has primary care of the child, and the nature of any contact with the non-resident parent or wider family members the child lives with and who they spend time with. Prior to making an application to the Court, it is now a requirement that you attend mediation. However, there are certain exceptions to this such as you have been a victim of domestic abuse or the matter is urgent. However, except in certain cases, for example, involving domestic abuse, the court will want to see that you’ve at least attended a meeting about mediation first.
When a court determines any question with respect to the upbringing of a child, the child’s welfare will be the court’s paramount consideration. Here, a range of factors will be taken into account including the needs and wishes of the child, the capabilities of each parent in meeting those needs, as well as any harm that the child may have suffered or be at risk from suffering. In the absence of any safeguarding concerns, the courts will actively encourage a relationship between the child and both parents, even if objections are raised by your former partner.
A family law specialist experienced with dealing with these types of applications can help to prepare any case on your behalf, helping to ensure that an order is made in your favour for continued contact with your child. By having a well-prepared case, this can go a long way towards effectively defending any challenge raised by the parent or guardian with care.
Enforce a Child Arrangements Order
If you already have a consent or court order in place, but your ex is not keeping to the terms of that order, it’s often best to see if the matter can first be resolved informally. In many cases, this will be in the best interests of all those involved, including your child, especially where the breach or breaches of any order are relatively minor.
Legal advice should be sought as soon as possible so that every attempt can be made to resolve the matter without further recourse to the courts. However, as a last resort, there are legal steps you can take to ask the court to enforce its terms. Your legal advisor can also advise on all other available options, including further family mediation.
Legal disclaimer
The matters contained herein are intended to be for general information purposes only. This blog does not constitute legal advice, nor is it a complete or authoritative statement of the law in England and Wales and should not be treated as such. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information is correct, no warranty, express or implied, is given as to its’ accuracy, and no liability is accepted for any error or omission. Before acting on any of the information contained herein, expert legal advice should always be sought.
