Anthony Gold

Get in touch

020 7940 4060

  • People
  • Insights
  • What to Expect
  • Contact Us
Anthony Gold
  • Services
    • Housing And Property Disputes
      • Property Disputes
      • Leasehold Services
      • Services For Commercial Landlords, Tenants And Agents
      • Services For Residential Landlords And Agents
      • Housing And Tenancy Issues
      • Judicial Review
    • Injury And Medical Claims
      • Life Changing Injuries
      • Medical Claims
      • Personal Injury
      • Child Abuse
    • Family And Relationships
      • Starting Relationships
      • Ending Relationships
      • After Relationships End
      • Useful Contacts
      • Religious & Cultural Issues
      • Family Law FAQs
      • Family Dispute Resolution
      • Modern Families And Surrogacy Arrangements
    • Conveyancing, Property & Business Services
      • Business Agreements
      • Business Disagreements
      • Commercial Property
      • Commercial Property Disputes
      • Leasehold Services
      • Residential Property
    • Wills, Estates & Court Of Protection
      • Wills, Trusts And Estates
      • Claims Against Trusts And Estates
      • Capacity And Court Of Protection
    • Dispute Resolution & Employment Law
      • Personal Claims
      • Professional Negligence
      • Business Disagreements
      • Claims Against Trusts And Estates
      • Employment
    • People
    • Insights
    • What to Expect
    • Contact Us
  • Get in touch

    020 7940 4060

  • Housing and Property Disputes
  • Injury and Medical Claims
  • Family and Relationships
  • Conveyancing, Property & Business Services
  • Wills, Estates & Court of Protection
  • Dispute Resolution & Employment Law
  • Property disputes
  • Ownership disputes and shares in property
  • Challenging the decisions of councils and public bodies
  • Rights of way, boundaries, covenants and easements
  • Party wall disputes
  • Leasehold services
  • Lease extension
  • Collective enfranchisement
  • Service charge disputes
  • Repairs to leaseholds
  • Right to manage
  • Services for commercial landlords, tenants and agents
  • Breach of covenant
  • Forfeiture and recovery of possession
  • Dilapidations and failing to repair
  • Lease renewals
  • Services for residential landlords and agents
  • Regulatory issues
  • Repossession
  • Agents (including letting agreements)
  • Housing and tenancy issues
  • Repairs
  • Repossession and eviction
  • Rehousing and homelessness
  • Judicial review
  • Life changing injuries
  • Brain injury
  • Spinal cord injury
  • Amputation
  • Psychiatric injury
  • Fatal injuries and inquests
  • Medical claims
  • Surgical claims
  • Non-Surgical Claims
  • Birth injury
  • Child health and paediatrics
  • GP and primary care treatment
  • Private healthcare
  • Personal injury
  • Road traffic accidents
  • Accidents abroad
  • Accidents at work
  • Faulty products
  • Public liability and other accidents
  • Child abuse
  • Child abuse
  • Starting relationships
  • Pre nuptial agreements
  • Pre civil partnership and same sex relationship agreements
  • Cohabitation and living together agreements
  • Property ownership agreements
  • Ending relationships
  • Divorce and separation
  • Ending a civil partnership
  • Ending cohabitation
  • Agreeing child arrangements
  • Agreeing finance and assets
  • International arrangements
  • After relationships end
  • Abduction and leave to remove children
  • Changing and challenging parenting agreements
  • Changing and challenging financial agreements
  • Grandparents’ rights
  • Useful Contacts
  • Financial planners
  • Referral to Pension Actuaries and Pension on Divorce Experts (PODEs)
  • Tax Specialists
  • Financial Neutrals
  • Counselling
  • Conveyancing
  • Wills
  • Religious & cultural issues
  • Jewish family law
  • Islamic family law
  • Family Law FAQs
  • Children FAQs
  • Cohabitation Agreement FAQs
  • No-Fault Divorce and Separation FAQs
  • Financial Issues FAQs
  • Pre-Marital Contracts FAQs
  • Family Dispute Resolution
  • Roundtable Meetings
  • One Solicitor Solution
  • Mediation
  • Collaborative Practice
  • Arbitration
  • Second Opinions
  • Private FDR’s
  • Early Neutral Evaluation (‘ENE’)
  • Modern Families and Surrogacy Arrangements
  • Domestic Surrogacy
  • International Surrogacy
  • Business agreements
  • Business advice
  • Employment
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Supplier contracts
  • Business disagreements
  • Commercial property
  • Commercial Sale and Purchases
  • Commercial loans and mortgages
  • Property Investment: plot developers & plot buyers
  • Auction: sales and purchases
  • Commercial advice for landlords and tenants
  • Planning advice
  • Mortgage debentures and securities
  • Commercial property disputes
  • Breach of covenant
  • Dilapidations and failing to repair
  • Forfeiture and recovery of possession
  • Lease renewals
  • Leasehold services
  • Lease extension
  • Collective enfranchisement
  • Service charge disputes
  • Repairs to leaseholds
  • Right to manage
  • Residential property
  • Residential Sale and Purchases
  • Property Investment: plot developers & plot buyers
  • Remortgages
  • Auction: sales and purchases
  • Ownership matters and transfers
  • Wills, trusts and estates
  • Making a will
  • Applying for probate
  • Distributing the estate
  • Arranging lasting power of attorney
  • Trust advice
  • Tax planning and advice
  • Claims against trusts and estates
  • Contesting a will
  • Losses caused by trustees
  • Capacity and court of protection
  • Appointing a deputy
  • Removing a deputy
  • Arranging lasting power of attorney
  • Gifts and legacies
  • Managing assets under a deputyship
  • Care issues
  • Removing lasting and enduring power of attorney
  • Special educational needs
  • Capacity and court of protection
  • Personal claims
  • Debt recovery
  • Ownership disputes and shares in property
  • Civil and commercial mediation
  • Building disputes
  • Professional negligence
  • Professional Negligence
  • Property Fraud
  • Investment Fraud
  • Business disagreements
  • Building disputes
  • Civil and commercial mediation
  • Claims against directors
  • Contract disputes
  • Debt recovery
  • Directors personal liabilities
  • Employment
  • Professional negligence
  • Claims against trusts and estates
  • Contesting a will
  • Losses caused by trustees
  • Employment
  • Employment
  • Unfair or Wrongful Dismissal
  • Settlement Agreements
Anthony Gold > Blog > What happens if I cannot agree child arrangements with my ex-partner?
Victoria Brown

Victoria Brown

victoria.brown@anthonygold.co.uk

Share
  • November 8, 2021
  • Blog
  • By  Victoria Brown 
  • 0 comments

What happens if I cannot agree child arrangements with my ex-partner?


Any important decisions relating to a child should be made with the agreement of both parents, assuming they have parental responsibility for the child(ren).

You might be able to resolve matters directly with the other parent, but if this is not possible then there are a number of options available to you which do not involve attending court.

You could consider attending mediation, which is a voluntary process within which an independent mediator will assist you and your ex-partner in reaching an agreement. Mediation is a less confrontational, more cost-effective approach to resolving matters relating to child arrangements and you can find out more about mediation at https://www.cafcass.gov.uk/grown-ups/parents-and-carers/divorce-and-separation/parenting-together/mediation/ as well as https://resolution.org.uk/.

It is not necessary to have a court order in place if you agree the arrangements for your child(ren). However, you might consider putting your agreement in writing so that there is clarity, and one way of doing so is to create a Parenting Plan. You can find further information about Parenting Plans at https://www.cafcass.gov.uk/grown-ups/parents-and-carers/divorce-and-separation/parenting-together/parenting-plan/.

If it is not possible to reach an agreement via the above methods, a solicitor could write to your ex-partner/their solicitor on your behalf to try to resolve matters. You may also wish to explore the collaborative process.

If it is still not possible to agree, it might be necessary to consider issuing court proceedings. The court can make the following orders in private children proceedings:

  • A Child Arrangements Order – known as ‘spend time with’ and ‘live with’ orders. There is now no such thing as ‘custody’ within the Family Court.
  • Prohibited Steps Order – this will prevent a parent from doing something, e.g. from taking their child out of the country.
  • Specific Issue Order – this will determine a particular issue, e.g. which school a child will attend.

When a court is making a decision about the upbringing of a child, the child’s welfare is the paramount consideration. The court must consider a range of factors known as the Welfare Checklist:

  1. The ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned considered in the light of his or her age and understanding.
  2. His or her physical, emotional and educational needs.
  3. The likely effect on him or her of any change in circumstances.
  4. His or her age, sex, background and any characteristics which the court considers relevant.
  5. Any harm which the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering including violence and, for example, impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another child or parent.
  6. How capable each of the parents and any other person in relation to who the court considers the question to be relevant, is, of meeting the child’s needs.

The court will not make an order in respect of a child unless it is in the interests of the child to have the order, which is known as the ‘no order’ principle.

It is easy to become distracted by irrelevant issues and get caught up in the emotional fall-out of separation. However, wherever possible do try and stay focussed on your child(ren) and what is in their best interests, and how you can work together to ensure that the arrangement works for them. Listen to their wishes and feelings and remember that no family is the same and therefore what works for somebody else may not necessarily be the best arrangement for you.

If you reach agreement outside of the court process, it may be possible to reflect this within a Child Arrangements Order which is submitted to the court for approval. However, the ‘no order’ principle will apply and it may be preferable to record your agreement within a parenting plan instead of seeking a court order.

Another alternative to the court process is arbitration, whereby an arbitrator (who will be appointed by you and your ex-partner) will provide a binding decision, known as an ‘award’. Arbitration is increasingly popular as a more flexible and efficient alternative to the court process.

If you are struggling to agree child arrangements with your ex-partner and would like advice or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

*Disclaimer: The information on the Anthony Gold website is for general information only and reflects the position at the date of publication. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated as such. It is provided without any representations or warranties, express or implied.

Victoria Brown

Victoria Brown

victoria.brown@anthonygold.co.uk

Get in touch

Call, email or use a contact form – whichever suits you. We’ll let you know the best person to help you get started.

Call or Email

020 7940 4060

mail@anthonygold.co.uk

No comments

Add your comment

We need your name and email address to make sure you’re a real person. We won’t share your email address with anyone else or send you spam. Please complete fields marked with *.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

code

Related Services

  • Abduction and leave to remove children

  • Agreeing child arrangements

  • Care issues

  • Changing and challenging parenting agreements

  • Cohabitation and living together agreements

  • Divorce and separation

  • Pre nuptial agreements

About the author

  • Victoria Brown

Meet the team

  • Family and Relationships

You might also like...

  • AA v BB [2021] EWHC 1822 (Fam): Evidence of domestic abuse and fact finding hearings

  • Improving Child and Family Arrangements (ICFA): a new service designed by Cafcass within private children proceedings

  • Provision of Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programmes (DAPPs) and the impact of Covid-19

Contact Us

Request a Call Back

About Us

  • Accessibility
  • Compliance
  • Responsible Business
  • Equality & Diversity
  • History
  • Our Beliefs
  • List of LLP members

Careers

  • Trainee Solicitors
  • Vacancies

Social Media

  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on LinkedIn
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • View our YouTube channel

Online Payments

  • Payment page through Worldpay

Accredited by

Lexel Parctice
76000Award

Copyright © Anthony Gold Solicitors LLP. All rights reserved. Anthony Gold Solicitors LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC433560 and is authorised and regulated by the by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with registration Number 810601