Can a Parent Stop a Child From Seeing the Other Parent?

If you are considering stopping contact between your child and their other parent, it is advisable to talk to a family law solicitor before taking any action.

In this blog, we examine the circumstances where, after a separation or divorce, one parent can prevent a child from seeing the other parent.

For specialist family law advice on parenting plans and child arrangement orders, call Evolve Family Law or complete our online enquiry form.

Stopping contact between a child and their parent

After a separation or divorce, many parents want to stop their child from seeing the other parent. Sometimes those feelings are fleeting, a reaction to a parent arriving late for contact or due to an argument. In other families, one parent may believe that it is in their child’s best interests not to have contact with the other parent. ​Regardless of the reasons for wanting to end contact, it’s best to seek legal advice before taking any action.

Stopping contact if there is an existing child arrangement order 

If there is an existing child arrangement order in place, you may be in breach of the court order if you stop your child from seeing their other parent without first applying to the court to vary the child arrangement order to end or reduce the parenting time.

Sometimes, the decision not to send a child to their parent for a contact visit can be difficult. In other situations, there may be immediate or serious welfare concerns, so you feel justified in not following the court order.

As breaching a child arrangement order could result in enforcement action, it’s best to understand your options, your former partner’s options and the court’s likely views on why you breached the child arrangement order, rather than waiting and applying to vary the child arrangement order and only then altering the parenting time.

Stopping contact if there is no child arrangement order in place 

If there is no child arrangement order in force, it is still best to get expert legal advice on the best course of action. That is because if you stop contact, your ex-partner may apply to the court for a child arrangement order. Depending on the current level of parenting time spent with the children and the reasons why you want to stop contact, your ex-partner may even be allowed to spend additional time with your child.

Should you stop contact between a child and the other parent?

There are certain scenarios in which contact between a parent and child should be stopped, as it is in the best interests of the child to do so. For example:

• If you have the grounds to fear child abduction and your child being taken out of the UK without your agreement, or
• You are worried that the other parent cannot safely care for the children during their parenting time and doesn’t have the insight into their mental health or addiction issues, or the extended family support to make their parenting time a safe experience for your child.

However, there are other scenarios where it isn’t necessarily in your child’s best interests to stop contact, even though the cessation of contact would make life a lot easier for you, as you would not need to contact your ex-partner over the parenting arrangements.

Reasons to stop contact

There are many situations where one parent often wants to stop a child from having contact with the other parent. Reasons to stop contact include:

• The other parent has not paid child support or spousal maintenance.
• The other parent has met a new partner, and you feel angry or hurt about it.
• The other parent gives you a lot of hassle and grief over the parenting plan, and you feel they are trying to control you through the communication that they have with you over childcare.
• You are worried that your ex-partner will be violent towards you at either collection or drop-off time.
• The other parent is always late collecting or returning the child.
• The child does not do any homework whilst with the other parent and always returns tired after a weekend away, meaning that the child finds it hard to settle back into their routine and concentrate on their school work.
• The other parent won’t follow the same parenting routine as you, so you are seen as the disciplinarian and no fun.
• The child says derogatory things about you that they have heard from the other parent during their parenting time.
• The child says they don’t want to see the other parent because time spent with their other parent is boring, and they want to see their friends.
• The child doesn’t like the other parent’s new partner or their children.

All the above are valid concerns that require legal advice and discussion with an expert children’s law solicitor about how best to resolve them; however, the solution may not be to end all parenting time with the other parent.

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What happens if I stop my child from spending time with their other parent?

If you stop contact between your child and the other parent, then the other parent could:

• Apply to the family court to enforce an existing child arrangement order.
• Apply to the court for a child arrangement order.
• Still turn up to see the child. For example, to collect the child from school.
• Walk away from family life and have no further contact.

Your child may not want to end or reduce the amount of time they spend with their other parent, even if it is in their best interests to do so. Stopping contact may lead the child to feel hurt and angry towards you. In addition, the child may think of their other parent in an idealised fashion. As they are no longer having contact with the other parent, the child may forget that the other parent was late in collecting them or did nothing with them during the parenting time other than watch television.

It can help to talk to a family law solicitor about the likely outcome of an application for a child arrangement order by the other parent or an application by you for a children order, such as a prohibited steps order. That’s because it is best to understand the approach the family court will take to stopping contact and how the judge will weigh up what future parenting arrangements are in your child’s best interests.

Alternatives to going to court to stop contact

A children’s law solicitor can also discuss alternative options to applying to court to end contact, such as:

• Family mediation to help you explain to your ex-partner your concerns about contact.
• Protective orders, such as domestic violence injunction orders, if your ex-partner is harassing you, or you fear child abduction.
• Round table meeting with family lawyers to discuss your concerns and reach a resolution. For example, agreeing on a parenting plan with consistent parenting routines for the child or agreeing to supervised contact whilst your ex-partner is experiencing a period of mental ill-health or working on overcoming an addiction.
• Family therapy can be a safe place to discuss future parenting time. This can involve an older child, so they can explain how they feel about contact.

Therefore, while it is tempting to sever contact between your child and their other parent, it is usually best to take some time to reflect and consider the legal consequences of such a decision.

For specialist family law advice on parenting plans and child arrangement orders, call Evolve Family Law or complete our online enquiry form.