Children: FAQs
What rights do parents have in respect of their children? Is a Court Order needed?
Responsibility for bringing up children rests with both parents, and the Court won’t make any Orders unless it is necessary for the benefit of the children. The Children Act 1989 introduced the concept of ‘Parental Responsibility’ (PR) which was a deliberate shift away from the idea that parents have ‘rights’ over their children towards the idea that they have ‘responsibilities’ towards them.
What is Parental Responsibility (PR)?
PR refers to the duties, obligations and rights that parents have towards children. Very basically, if you have PR, you are a parent in the eyes of the law. Having PR gives you the legal authority to make decisions about important aspects of your child’s life. These can include their name, where they attend school, their religious upbringing and place of residence. A parent without PR can’t authorise medical treatment for their children (except in emergencies), see their medical records or manage their money. If a Father does not have PR, the Mother is not required to obtain his consent to change the child’s surname, remove the child permanently from the UK or have the child adopted.
Who has PR?
All Mothers and married Fathers (married to the Mother that is) automatically have PR. For unmarried Fathers, if the Father’s name is on the child’s birth certificate and the child’s birth was registered after 01.12.2003, he will automatically acquire shared PR with the Mother. Otherwise, unmarried Fathers can generally acquire it by agreement with the Mother or by Court Order.
If we separate, who will the children live with?
Upon separation, children tend to live with the parent who has been the primary carer up until that point. If care of the children has been shared equally, then the Court would generally expect that to continue, where practicable. However, if one party’s work commitments make it difficult for them to look after the children, and/or if one of the parties wishes to move away from the area, this may not be practical. If agreement cannot be reached, mediation is an initial option, to see if some agreement can be reached with the other parent without the need for Court proceedings. We can discuss this with you and refer you to a mediation service if appropriate. If mediation isn’t suitable for your case or doesn’t work, then it is open to either parent to make a formal application to the Court for a Residence Order, which would determine with whom the children would live.
I am worried about the safety of my child. Must I allow contact?
On the whole, the Courts promote contact, although if there are genuine reasons for concern, then it may be appropriate for contact to be suspended until these concerns have been investigated by the Court. The Court will generally not order contact immediately if there is any legitimate concern that a child may be at risk, for example where concerns are raised about domestic violence, drug or alcohol abuse, or if the non resident parent threatens to remove the child from the resident parent’s care. In such circumstances, and whilst any of the above matters are being investigated, contact may still take place, albeit on a supervised basis.
My ex partner won’t let me see my children enough. What can I do?
If contact cannot be agreed, then you can make a formal application to the Court for a Contact Order which would specify when you should have contact with the children. Ultimately, the Courts generally promote contact and consider that it is in a child’s interests to have regular contact with both parents in the absence of any compelling reason to the contrary, such as where a child may be at risk of harm. A common arrangement for many families, particularly where the non resident parent works full time, is for contact to take place on an alternate weekend basis, with some extended contact in the school holidays, and with Christmas and New Year contact being enjoyed on an alternate basis. Whilst this is a common arrangement, clearly each case will vary, depending upon the circumstances.
My ex partner wants to emigrate and take the children. What can I do?
If you have PR for your children, then the other parent ought to obtain your consent to any such intended move. If your consent, as a parent with PR, is not obtained, then the other parent may be committing a criminal offence if the child is removed from the country. If you suspect that your child is going to be abducted, then even if you do not have PR, an urgent application can be made to the Court to prevent your child’s removal. Ultimately, the Court will have to make a decision based on what is in the child’s best interests.
How much will it cost?
Matters involving children can be very complex and therefore currently costs can vary a lot from case to case. However, FLC are able to offer staged fixed fees to resolve your case. We also offer a free initial consultation at which we will be happy to discuss your circumstances and let you know what to expect.
Initial Out of Court Negotiation
If you and the other parent are not in agreement about matters concerning your children but the situation does not require a Court application (which we will of course advise you on) then we will write to the other parent with your proposals for resolving the matter and advise you in connection with any response received from the other parent or their solicitors. We would then write to confirm agreement of put forward your final proposals. We call this Initial Out of Court Negotiation.
Advice following mediation
If as part of this process we refer you to mediation, we will also advise you in respect of any agreement provisionally reached there. If, however, it is not possible to reach an agreement via this process, then you may wish to make an application to the Court, or of course the other parent may do so. For this please see our Fixed Fees section.
| Service | Fee (exc. VAT) | Additional Court Fee** (exc. VAT) | Instalments** |
| Initial Out of Court Negotiation | £250.00 | N/A | One Advance Payment |
| Advice Following Mediation | £250.00 | N/A | One Advance Payment |
| Staged Fixed Fees For Children | See section for details | ||