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 > Wishes and feelings of children in private children proceedings
Victoria Brown

Victoria Brown

victoria.brown@anthonygold.co.uk

Share
  • July 8, 2019
  • Blog
  • By  Victoria Brown 
  • 0 comments

Wishes and feelings of children in private children proceedings


When a court is considering what order to make in respect of a child and what is in their best interests, it must consider a statutory checklist which is set out at section 1(3) of the Children Act 1989. The first of these factors is ‘the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned (considered in the light of their age and understanding)’.

“Ascertainable” vs “expressed” wishes and feelings

The court should draw a distinction between the child’s ascertainable wishes and feelings and their expressed wishes and feelings. This will be particularly important in cases where one parent is influencing or even coaching the child, so that what they are saying may not reflect their real wishes and feelings.

In the recent case of Re L (a child) [2019] EWHC 867 the court emphasised that focus  must be placed on the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child, stating that “actions speak louder than words”. In that case, there was a striking contrast between what the child said about his father in the presence of his mother – which was entirely negative – and the reality of their relationship. The court accepted the view of the Guardian that any expression of the child’s wishes would be unlikely to represent his true wishes and feelings, and to that extent it would not be possible to ascertain the child’s genuine view. Further, the court accepted the Guardian’s opinion that it would have been emotionally harmful to ask the child, in those particular circumstances, which parent he wanted to live with. The court also held that, whilst it is a fundamental principle which is applicable to every case, the manner and degree to which the child is heard will vary from case to case.

The effect of a child’s age

In considering the weight to attach to the child’s wishes and feelings, the court will assess their age and understanding. Where a child is very young little weight, if any, may be given to their views where they are not sufficiently mature to understand their situation.

There is no specific age at which a child’s wishes and feelings will carry greater weight. Every child is different and there are numerous factors that may have a bearing on their understanding, including their maturity and whether they are being influenced by, for example, one parent.

It is not common for the court to impose an order that is completely incompatible with a teenager’s wishes, and where other factors are finely balanced, an older child’s views may have more significance. However again, every child is different and just because a child is older this does not automatically mean that the court will give effect to their wishes and feelings. Moreover, even where a child expresses clear views, if this is contrary to their best interests then the court may decide not to carry them out. The child’s welfare is the court’s paramount consideration and there may therefore be cases where their wishes and feelings might not align with their overall welfare.

How wishes and feelings are ascertained

Within private children proceedings a child’s wishes and feelings will usually be ascertained through the preparation of a section 7 report – which may be undertaken by Cafcass or the local authority – or an Independent Social Worker report. In some cases a court may also join the child as a party to the proceedings by appointing a children’s guardian.

*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

  • Abduction and leave to remove children

  • Abduction and leave to remove children

  • Agreeing child arrangements

  • Agreeing parenting

  • Care issues

  • Care issues

  • Changing and challenging parenting agreements

  • Cohabitation and living together agreements

  • Cohabitation and living together agreements

  • Divorce and Separation FAQs

  • Divorce and separation

  • Pre nuptial agreements

  • Pre nuptial agreements

  • Pre-Marital Contracts FAQs

About the author

  • Victoria Brown

Meet the team

  • Family and Relationships

You might also like...

  • Removal of parental responsibility: C v D and another [2018] EWHC 3312 (Fam)

  • Child contact arrangements: why it is never too early to start thinking about Christmas

  • What happens if parents cannot agree as to whether their child should be vaccinated? - Re B (A Child: Immunisation)

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