Child Arrangement Orders – Your Questions Answered

If you are going through a separation or divorce, you are bound to have lots of questions about your child custody rights or want to ask questions about residence, contact or access orders.

In this article, children law expert Louise Halford answers your frequently asked questions on child arrangement orders.

For expert Divorce and Children Law advice, call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

What is a child arrangement order?

A child arrangement order is a court order that sets out parenting arrangements for children when there is a dispute between parents over their child’s living arrangements.

The order is a combined order, as it will outline where the children will live (formerly referred to as a custody order or residence order) and the spending time with arrangements (formerly referred to as an access order or contact order).

Do I need a child arrangement order?

You only need a child arrangement order if you can’t agree on the parenting arrangements for your children.

If you cannot reach an agreement directly with your ex-partner, your children’s law solicitor can help you resolve issues through alternative dispute resolution.

Alternative dispute resolution keeps disputes out of court. There are several ways to reach a parenting agreement without going to court. These include:

1. Family mediation.
2. Family arbitration.
3. Amicable divorce with our one-lawyer service.
4. Solicitor negotiations.
5. Direct negotiations.

The family court will not routinely make a child arrangement order to record what you have agreed unless there is a history of dispute or a real reason for the order.

Will a child arrangement order let me take my children abroad?

If you are named as the parent a child lives with in a child arrangement order, you can take your children abroad on holiday for up to four weeks without needing the other parent’s agreement.

However, even with a child arrangement order, you can’t move overseas with your children without the other parent’s agreement or a court order. If the other parent won’t agree to your plans to relocate overseas with the children, then you need to apply for a relocation order.

Can you change a child arrangement order?

A child arrangement order can be changed either by:

1. Both parents record that they agree to the parenting change, or
2. By applying back to the family court to vary the child arrangement order.

For example, if you agree that the children should be returned home at 6 pm rather than the old time of 5 pm, the agreement to the change could be recorded in a text or email without incurring the expense of a court application. However, if your child wants to move to live with you and the other parent won’t agree, then you will need to apply to the court to vary the child arrangement order.

You should not change the child arrangement order without taking advice, as you do not want to be accused of breaching the court order.

Child arrangement orders and child support

A child arrangement order does not say if one parent should pay child support to the other parent.

Child support is arranged by:

1. Agreement between parents, or
2. Assessment by the Child Maintenance Service, or
3. In limited situations, the court can make a child support order.

The general rule is that when a child spends an equal amount of time with both parents, neither parent is required to pay child support. That rule applies even when one parent earns more than the other parent under the Child Maintenance Service rules.

Child support rules are complicated. It’s best to speak to a family law solicitor about your entitlement to child support before reaching a financial settlement or agreeing to a parenting plan.

You might also be interested in

Shared care and child arrangement orders

A child arrangement order can specify the parent the children will live with and set out the contact or spending time arrangements with the other parent.

Alternatively, a child arrangement order can stipulate that parenting is shared and outline the details of the shared parenting arrangement. It does not necessarily have to be a 50/50 split each week. Ideally, a child arrangement order will also set out how holiday contact will be arranged. For example, parents may have alternate year Christmas Day contact, or school holiday contact will be divided equally on dates to be agreed upon between the parents.

With a child arrangement order, can you make all important decisions regarding your child?

If you have a child arrangement order, it does not allow you to make all the important decisions for your child and exclude the other parent from decision-making.

Important decisions include:

1. Choice of school.
2. Whether to follow a religion and the extent of faith observances.
3. Medical decisions.

If both parents have parental responsibility for their child, they both have equal rights and responsibilities over major decision-making.

Where parental responsibility is shared and both parents cannot reach an agreement over an aspect of parenting, then either parent can apply to the family court for a specific issue order or a prohibited steps order. The court will decide based on what the judge believes to be in the child’s best interests.

Who can apply for a child arrangement order?

It isn’t just parents who can apply to court for a child arrangement order. Others have an automatic right to apply for a child arrangement order, such as:

1. Step-parents, or
2. A relative if the child has been living with the relative for twelve months, or
3. Anyone who has looked after the child for three years or more.

In addition to those with an automatic right to apply for a child arrangement order, others can apply for permission to apply for a child arrangement order. This typically covers situations where a grandparent wants to obtain an order to have contact with a grandchild.

How Evolve Family Law can help you with sorting out parenting arrangements

If you need help with a child arrangement order application, our specialist children law solicitors are here to help you. We can assist you by:

• Representation in an application for a child arrangement order.
• Applying to vary a child arrangement order.
• Family mediation to help you reach a parenting agreement.
• Legal advice by offering legal services whilst you mediate with an alternative mediator.
• If you are divorcing amicably, consider our Amicable Divorce One Lawyer service.

For expert Divorce and Children Law advice, call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.