Frequently asked questions - Children-Q&A
A:
If your friend is now caring for the children without difficulty it is most unlikely that social services would feel the need for any involvement and there could be no question of the children being removed. That said they will certainly have records of the difficult time and relating to the children's removal.
There could be sense in this situation of taking the initiative and discussing matters with social services.I would certainly not advise that she continues to hide the true position from the children's father. He has parental responsibility for the children and is entitled just as much as their mother to involvement in their upbringing
A:
This must indeed be very distressing for you and your family. More relevantly however from a family court's viewpoint, it must be very distressing and against the best interest of your nieces for them to be prevented from seeing you and your family. This is something which the court would be most likely to remedy by making an order that you will have contact with the girls
What the social worker has told you is quite correct although clearly most unsatisfactory.Your sister has parental responsibility which is not affected by the girls being in foster care.As such she has the right to prevent you from seeing the. children. However clearly she is not exercising her parental responsibility to the best advantage of her daughters. It is well-established that it is in the best interest of children to be in regular touch with relatives. A court would have little difficulty in deciding this and making a contact order in your favour. I can see little alternative to such an application.
Applying for a contact order need not be difficult nor expensive. We would be pleased to assist you in this application if so required.
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If your friend is now caring for the children without difficulty it is most unlikely that social services would feel the need for any involvement and there could be no question of the children being removed. That said they will certainly have records of the difficult time and relating to the children's removal.
There could be sense in this situation of taking the initiative and discussing matters with social services.I would certainly not advise that she continues to hide the true position from the children's father. He has parental responsibility for the children and is entitled just as much as their mother to involvement in their upbringing
A:
You have parental responsibility for your children and the consequence of this is that if your former wife intends to remove them from the jurisdiction of the UK court she must first obtain either your consent or the consent ofthe court. If it appears that she is not intending to do this and you believe that it is in the children's best interests toemain in the UK, you should immediately apply to a court for a prohibited steps order which will prevent her from removing the children.
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It would sound as if your son has parental responsibility for his children. The law is that children cannot be removed from the jurisdiction of the UK courts without either the consent of all persons with parental responsibility or the court.
Therefore the children's mother will need to make an application to the court if your son refuses his consent. If this is done, your son will then be able to make representations and perhaps argue that it would be in the children's best interest to remain in the UK with him. Should the children be allowed to accompany their mother it will be on condition that the best possible contact arrangements are made for them to see their father.
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The court can do nothing to prevent your former wife from living where ever she wishes. However as a parent with parental responsibility you have the right to be consulted on major issues such as where the children should live and a change of school. If you are not able to agree these matters with your children's mother it is open to you to ask the court to decide by way of an application for a specific issues order. If appropriate you would also be able to apply for a residence order.
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If you are aware of where your child's father is now living, it will be necessary for you to obtain formal written refusal or agreement from him. If as you expect he refuses (or fails to reply to your request) it will then be necessary for you to make an application to the County Court for a order that you have leave to remove your child from the jurisdiction and any other orders to satisfy the requirements of the Australian immigration authorities. Before making the orders required the court will need to be satisfied that it is in the best interest of your child to move with you to Australia. This should not be difficult.
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Unfortunately as your son's father has parental responsibility, his consent is required before you are able to remove your son from the UK to live permanently in Spain. If this consent is not forthcoming you would be able to apply to the court for a specific issues order granting you leave to remove of your son. In these circumstances of the father playing a negligible part in your child's life it is probable that the court would have little hesitation in making such an order which would be little more than a formality.
My advice is to write to the father straight away seeking his permission. If this is not forthcoming or if you are out of contact with him an application under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 should be made on form C1. If further advice is needed or if you would like us to help you with the application to the court please get in touch.
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That's right. Your former husband will have parental responsibility for your daughter, and if he refuses to consent to you removing her permanently from the UK there is no alternative to an application to the Court for leave. If your plans are well thought out there is no reason to suspect that the application would be refused.
A:
Let me first of all put your mind at rest. No he cannot behave like this. As you were not married to your baby's father at the time she was born, you are the only one with parental responsibility. That means that unless you agree to give the father parental responsibility or this is granted by the court as being in the best interest of your child, the father has no legal rights. Certainly he could not take her out of the country without your consent.
I think you have to do something about his threatening attitude. It is difficult enough for you to bring up a baby single-handed without these threats and harassment from him. The courts will assist to keep him away from you if this is what you wish. It would be possible for you to apply to the court for an order that he does not come near you or the baby. You do however have the difficult decision to make as to whether you want him completely out of your life. If you are content to go on living with him it would be extremely difficult for a court to make an enforceable order that he refrains from this quite unacceptable behaviour.
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Unless you can obtain the written consent of your daughter’s father to remove her permanently from the UK it will be necessary to obtain the Court’s leave. This is unlikely to be refused in the circumstances.
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You must obtain the father's consent to remove the children from the UK to live permanently overseas if he has parental responsibility for the children. If he does not have parental responsibility then his consent is not required. Should he withhold his consent where required the leave of the court must be obtained
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Although you do not say so, the real reason behind your daughter’s mother’s refusal must be a fear that you were all find out how she is being treated and that your daughter may wish to come and live with you.
If further persuasion is pointless then you have no alternative other than to apply to the court for a Specific Issues Order under Section 8 the Children Act 1989. This is not particularly difficult but I presume that as you are not in the UK, full representation would be required. An idea of the costs were you to instruct us to proceed would be £250 to prepare and issue the application plus court fees. You should set aside another £500 to cover the costs of representation at court should this need to go to a hearing. That said however it is difficult to see what valid objection the mother could make.
It is a rash lawyer who guarantees anything but there can be no real doubt that a court would consider it to be in a 13 year olds best interest to visit her father and have a holiday in Australia providing everything is properly prepared to safeguard her welfare. You can be very certain therefore that an order would be made.
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I cannot see that this father has parental responsibility and he will need to be asked why he claims he does have it.
Even were he to have parental responsibility there is no question of you and your daughter being forced back to the UK and to suggest that there is simply rubbish. This is hardly a case of child abduction or your daughter being in some kind of danger. It is very clearly in her best interest to remain with you in the US and almost laughable to think that a court would order her return to the UK to be with a father who has played little part in her up bringing. It could be best to simply ignore this stupidity but if you do need further help let me know.
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There is no easy solution. Certainly nothing can be done to stop your former wife from moving to the Shetland Islands. The consequence of this is that clearly your son must either live in the Shetlands with his mother or with you.
Both his mother and yourself have equal rights with regard to your boy. The position of the courts is to expect you and her to work together and make your own arrangements for the best interest of your son. The courts will therefore only become involved when there is a dispute which cannot be resolved between the parents. The consequence of this is that if she does indeed move to the Shetlands and this proves to be permanent (which personally I doubt) then it is for you to come up with a contact plan. I appreciate how difficult this will be whilst your son is still a baby. However all the advantages are with cooperating with her so that at least when he is older he will be able to come and stay with you.
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You are going to need to apply to the Court for a Contact Order.
See:
Application to the Court for a Contact Order
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The situation as I understand it is that a residency order was made concerning your daughter in favor of your former wife at the time of your divorce. Your daughter now wishes to live with you. If this is the case it will be necessary to apply to the court for an order varied in residency. If this can be agreed with your former wife, the procedure would be quite straightforward and it is unlikely that your personal attendance before the court will be required. If matters should become disputed, your daughter is now of an age when her wishes would be taken into consideration
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Whether or not you voluntarily or otherwise tell your son's mother where you are living will not resolve this problem. The situation clearly needs to be put in order for everybody's sake. If your son is to live with you it would probably be appropriate for you to obtain a residence order in order to regularise the position.
You need also to give very careful thought to what is in your son's best interest. Is it really in his best interest that he should not be allowed contact with his mother? Should you not put his fears at rest and assure him that you will protect him if he has contact.
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I appreciate your concerns and the court is quite able to make an order in the terms you mention. I suspect however that this would not be an answer to all your problems which is clearly fast developing into a difficult situation. If there is no prospect now of you and your husband getting back together it would be far better to regularise the situation by either dissolving the marriage or obtaining a judicial separation. This would enable you to obtain orders if necessary dealing with residence, contact, maintenance and other matters concerning your daughter. You also need final orders dealing with financial matters. If this can be done then hopefully both you and your husband can get on with separate lives and maintain a friendly relationship for the sake of your daughter.
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Although there is a presumption that it is in a child's best interest to know their birth parent, this would seem to be exactly the sort of case where this presumption is rebuffed.
Your grandson is well settled and treats your daughter's husband as his father. The disruption which would be caused into his lifestyle and that of the family is obvious. Taking into consideration his charecter and his problems and also the lifestyle of the father it is exteremely difficult to see that introduction of this person at this time would be in your grandson's best interest.
Q:
My son is now 15 and wants to come and live with me. What do I have to do legally to arrange this
A:
The reality of the situation is that your son is old enough to decide where he wants to live and that it would not be in his interest to make him live elsewhere. I do not know whether any orders have been made by the court dealing with residence, and if there is a residence order in favour of his mother it could be necessary to have this varied. Otherwise my advice is that your son should simply come and live with you whilst keeping in regular contact with his mother. The Court is relauctant to make Orders concerning children of uour son's age and can not do so in usual circumstances once a child has reached 16.
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The law does not lay down any strict rules to cover this sort of situation.
Indeed the thrust of the law is to encourage parents to come to their own agreement over such practical matters as contact arrangements and only to step in when this is not possible. The sensible solution here would certainly be an arrangement to meet halfway. I would suggest that therefore that you tell the children's father where and when he may collect the children. If he does not like this it will be for him to go to the expense of applying to the court for them to decide matters. You will have been acting perfectly reasonably and I have absolutely no doubt that the court would agree and confirm your decision.
Obviously if this is a father who does not care enough for his children to put himself out and spend the money needed to visit them they would have to be some doubt as to whether continuing contact is in their best interest.
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An unmarried father has no automatic right to see his children but if this is denied he may apply to the court for a contact order. Although the courts are normally reluctant to deprive a parent of all contact with their children, this is not because they have a right but because it is usually in the children's best interest to have regular contact with both parents. If your children's father should apply to the court for contact it is probable that a court welfare officer will be asked to prepare a report to help the court to determine what the children want and whether it is in their best interest to see their father.
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No. It is unlikely to be in the children's best interest that they do not see their grandchildren and a court would order her to let you see the children as it is in their best interest to do so. Unless she can be persuaded to be reasonable you will have no alternative other than to apply to the court for a contact order.
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The law here is quite certain. You are obviously a caring father who wishes to play a part in the upbringing of your children. It is well established that it is in children's best interest to have contact with both parents where this is possible and the court will therefore have no hesitation in ordering that contact should take place.
The answer to the position you find yourself in is equally straightforward. If everything possible has been done to persuade your son's mother that personal animosity has no place here and that she should act in your son's best interest you must-for your son's sake-refer matters to court. This is not particularly difficult and there is little need in most cases for legal representation.
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It is an excellent idea to share the care of children and that it is not something that has to be applied for but simply to put into practice. The reason however should not be so that you can claim state benefits. Child benefit will be paid to only one parent.
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No- it is not too late although your introduction to your daughter will have to be gradual.
If your daughter's mother will not agree to work with you to bring you into your daughter's life it will be necessary to ask the Court to make a Contact Order. You will need to demonstrate your commitment and show that you will be a positive influence on your daughter.
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I am afraid that I may not have much good news for you. There is absolutely nothing that you can do to stop your husband's former wife from moving wherever she chooses. The only question is whether the children should move with her. Your husband has parental responsibility for them which includes the right to be consulted about where they should live etc. If he can not agree this with the children's mother, then the question can be put before a court by way of an application for a specific issues order. The issue will would presumably be whether the children would live with you all with their mother 300 miles away. The court would determine this by considering what is in the children's best interest. On the one hand it is probably in their best interest to remain where they are, continue going to the same school, and be around their friends. On the other hand there is bound to be a strong case for them staying with their mother who has always been the principal carer even though the cost of this might be less frequent contact with their father.
These are the general principles. It is a fine line to tread and without more detail I would be unable to advise whether an application would be likely to succeed.
A:
I am so sorry to hear of the problems you are experiencing in having contact with your grandchild. The question which needs to be answered is not so much whether you have a legal right to see your grandson as whether he has the right to see you as his grandparents. The answer to that question is a categorical yes and a right which is likely to be enforced by the courts.
I am also concerned reading your question as to your son's rights. It seems clear that he wishes to play a full part as Father in your son's upbringing. It was not however seem that at the present time he has parental responsibility for the Child. This should be obtained either by agreement from the mother or application to court and is then he will have equal responsibility with your grandson's mother for the child and the right to bring him to see you.
My advice is for your son to obtain parental responsibility. It is also for you to find out the reason behind this peculiar refusal by his girlfriend. You must meet and discuss your quite natural requirement with her. You can do this in the sure confidence that I have ever necessary, the court would enforce your grandson's right to know his grandparents.
A:
The behaviour of your partner's former wife is clearly unreasonable and pays no regard to the best interests of the children.It is unlikely to change and certainly in my experience, mediation even if agreed would have been a total waste of time and money.
You are absolutely right in saying that when deciding matters concerning children, the interest of the child is the court's paramount interest. It has been decided time after time that the best interest of children is to remain in regular contact with both parents following breakdown of a marriage. Thus there can be no sensible doubt that any court would order that your partner have proper and meaningful contact with his children.
The circumstances here are that the only effective route open is to apply to the court for a contact order. I am amazed and horrified that you have been told that this could cost more than £5,000. It need only cost a few hundred. The procedure is relatively straightforward and there are no particularly difficult legal issues.
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I am not sure as to exactly what has been served upon you. Is it an application for a residency order which will be on a form C1.It is most unlikely that an actual residency order would be made without prior notice to you.
When applying for a residence order it is no longer necessary to include a full statement of facts in support of the application.
I would be happy to assist you further but before I am able to do so I will need much further information from you. In particular I will need to knowthe ages of your children and with whom they are living now. Please get in touch if you require further help.
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An absent parent's contact with children always works best when the arrangements are mutually agreed between both parents. However when this is not possible, the court can be asked to define contact and make orders as to when it should take place. It is therefore possible for you to apply to the court for a defined contact order.This need not be expensive if yo are able to carry out most of the work yourself. We provide a kit to assist at a nominal price. One problem however is the rigidity of such an order which does not allow for flexibility such as changes when you return to work.
Your position does seem unsatisfactory in that your marriage is clearly over and it may well be best for it to be dissolved by way of divorce now and at the same time deal with issues concerning your sons and any outstanding financial matters.
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People who ignore the orders of a court run a very real risk of being sent to prison. Such behaviour is rarely in the interest of the children.
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It is quiteirrelevant that these grandparents live in France. They are the grandparents of UK children, and the UK courts have the power on application with leave by the grandparents under S8 of the Children Act 1989 to make a contact order. In considering such an application the court must decide whether it is in the children’s interest to have contact with their grandparents. There is a presumption that it is usually in children’s interests to have such contact with all family members.
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I am afraid that there can only be one solution to this problem and that is an application to your local County Court for a contact order. It may well be that once proceedings have been issued the mother having taken advice will accept that what is in issue hear is the well-being of the children and that this calls for them to have full and proper contact with their father.
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There is absolutely no reason why you cannot deal with this yourself as you intend. The procedure is quite straightforward although before proceeding you should make yourself away or of the criteria which the court takes into consideration when deciding these matters. Also be aware that the concept of custody of a Child no longer applies. Both you and your former wife have and will retain what is known as parental responsibility. The order you will be seeking is a residence order which will set out where your children are to live and who will have day to day care of do them.
Application for a residence order is made on court form C1.
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You must take urgent action concerning your children. This must be by way of an application to the County Court for a Contact or Residence order under S8 of the Children Act 1989.
I think you must also give serious thought to whether or not this is a divorce situation. If it is you should petition for divorce on the grounds of your wife’s unreasonable behaviour and that the same time apply for an interim Contact Order. It is near certain that the court will order that you will have reasonable contact with your children.
Your wife is not permitted to change your children’s surname without your consent or an order of the court. The latter is most unlikely to be granted and it may well be necessary for you to apply to the court for a Prohibited Steps Order in order to restrain your wife.
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This cannot be allowed to continue. It would seem that this isone of those unfortunate cases where contact by the children with their father is causing them harm and that there is little alternative other than to call upon the court to regulate the children’s father’s contact and make appropriate orders to protect the children.
Supervised contact springs to mind but as the parent with day-to-day care of the children it is for you to decide what if any contact is in the children’s interest at this time. When making such orders the court has almost unlimited powers but you should remember that the children are yours and first and foremost it is for you decide what is best for them. It is then likely that the court would follow your wishes and make them legally binding.
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I fear that you may be labouring under some presumption that your wife as the mother has an advantage when the question of whom a child should live with is decided. This is certainly not the case. From what you say it would appear obvious that your daughter is better off living with you and I have no doubt that such would be ordered. Her wishes are most important and with a teenager the Court would be most reluctant to order her to live where she did not wish.
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An unmarried father has no automatic right to see his children but if this is denied he may apply to the court for a contact order. Although the courts are normally reluctant to deprive a parent of all contact with their children, this is not because they have a right but because it is usually in the children's best interest to have regular contact with both parents. If your children's father should apply to the court for contact it is probable that a court welfare officer will be asked to prepare a report to help the court to determine what the children want and whether it is in their best interest to see their father.
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The first thing that must be remembered is that there is little connection between an absent father's obligation to pay maintenance for his children, and the right for contact with those children. This may at times seem unfair but the fact that a father is not paying maintenance will not automatically deprive him of a right to see his child.
If your child's father is refusing to contribute towards the child's maintenance you should take immediate steps to ensure that he does so This will normally involve an application to the Child Support Agency. The system is far from perfect but unless there is a very good reason not to apply you should do so. If you are receiving benefits, the benefits agency will make the application on your behalf.
The question of the father's contact with your child can be a little more complicated. The deciding factor is whether it is in the child's best interest to have contact with his or her father. The presumption which can be rebutted is that it is in a child's best interest to have contact with both its parents. Thus it is likely that if a dispute develops, which it is necessary for a court to resolve, an order that the father have contact would be made if he is able to show that he could play a positive part in your child's life. Part of this however is helping to maintain the Child and he would be likely to have to explain his failure to do so. However if he is genuinely unable to pay maintenance but would play a positive part in your child's upbringing it is most likely that he would be allowed contact with the Child.
Whenever possible the question of contact should be agreed between parents, and without resort to the courts. This can be difficult where, as seems probable here, one party has been badly treated and deserted by the other, but it is always the child's best interest which is put first.
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As I understand it your partner’s ex. is now insisting upon meeting you and visiting your house to inspect the arrangements for her son's contact with your partner. You ask whether she is entitled to do so and whether you could be made to meet her and allow her into your house. The answer is a categorical No. You are under no obligation to meet her and you cannot be made to allow her into your house.
The difficulty however is that this insistence by her shows all the hallmarks of a developing dispute over contact between your partner and his sons mother. If it is at all possible this should be avoided and I am sure you will wish to play your part in avoiding a situation which although not your fault is bound to be unpleasant, stressful, and damaging for all involved not least the children.
My fear is that if you continue to refuse her request to meet and inspect your house, however unreasonable this may be, it could be used by her as an excuse to refuse contact. It would then be for your partner to apply to the court for a contact order. I have no doubt whatsoever that this would be granted but you would still be involved in the hassle and possible expense of having to make the application. The court process will take time during which you could be denied contact. Even if (and when) contact is ordered to be resumed, there can be real problems with enforcing the order if the child's mother continues to be obstructive.
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I will answer your question this way. Two parents have absolutely identical parenting skills and both are equally capable of caring for the child. One parent however agrees with the principle that it is in the child’s best interest to have regular and meaningful contact with the other parent and the second parent has been shown to consistently obstruct this. Who do you think would be awarded residence?
I can not answer whether you would have to move. Probably not but it depends.
Applications such as this have traditionally been milking grounds for lawyers. This should not be so as what you would be applying for is not for you but your daughter. There is no reason whatsoever why you should not act in person-possibly with some guidance on the law and procedure
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Enforcement of contact orders has always presented problems for the Court. The guiding principle of the Children Act is the child’s best interest and that is rarely promoted by imprisoning or penal sanctions against a parent.
The accepted answer can be an application not for contact but for residence. This could be the answer for your partner as it would put him in the driving seat. There is no need for the actual time which the child spends with each parent to vary and I have known cases where a father has residence with a contact order for 6 days a week to the mother.
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I will deal firstly with the easy part which is the question of parental responsibility. If your son's father has parental responsibility, then he must consent to this being shared with your new partner. If he will not you must obtain a parental responsibility order from the court. If he does not have parental responsibility you need only to enter into a formal parental responsibility agreement with your partner which I can supply you with.
It is normally in a child's best interest to have contact with both of his natural patents. This benefit can however be outweighed by the conduct of a parent and this could well be one of those cases. Your duty as the parent with day-to-day care of your son is to protect his best interest and it seems that you have reached the decision that this interest does not require him to see his father. If you are correct in this the court will give you every support.
It could well be that the solution is some sort of indirect contact for the time being such as e-mails, letters, and the like. If so you should write to the father advising him of what or any contact you feel appropriate. If he does not accept this it will then be for him to put the matter to the court for a decision.
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This is a sad if not uncommon problem. Your difficulty is that Sophie and her mother are now living in Australia and will come under the Australian legal system. Any application would therefore have to be made to the Australian courts and in all probability this would require the expense of employing an Australian lawyer.
You will appreciate the I have no knowledge of Australian law but I think it is safe to say that you just have to persevere with persuading the mother to consider Sophie's interests first and the obvious fact that it is in her best interests to have contact with a father who cares.
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A contact order which defines and sets out the dates and times of your contact with your son would probably be available from the Court. This would not necessarily resolve the problem however as there could well be enforcement problems and you can not go running back to Court every time this mother is awkward and refuses to co operate with the flexibility which there has to be with contact arrangements.
The only answer can be to try to install some measure of understanding in her. This is probably one of those occasions where mediation could help. Depending upon your financial circumstances this could be available under the public funding scheme or possibly through such as Relate or one of the voluntary mediation organisations.
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This is a case where you should agree to share your parental responsibility with your partner. Adoption is not necessary or appropriate. Granting Parental Responsibility is quite easily done by way of a parental responsibility agreement which need only be signed by you unless your daughter’s biological father also has PR
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Of course it is not reasonable for a babe of such tender years to be away from his mother for so long and that can not be in his best interest. Your daughter is being quite reasonable and must stick by the very proper contact she is offering.
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This should not be allowed to happen. Your boyfriend should seek an interim care order which can be made without delay.
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No he does not. He should enter into a parental responsibility order with the mother.
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Orders concerning children can be varied at any time
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There are many, myself included, who will say that mediation is a total waste of time in many disputes concerning children. However it is favoured by the Legal Services Commission and a condition of public funding for a Children Act case is that mediation is attempted before the issue of court proceedings. I can therefore only advise you to co-operate and go through the formalities of a mediation which will present you with clean hands if matters progress from there. The cost must of course be born by the other side.
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There is the strongest of presumptions that it is in a child's best interest to have regular and meaningful contact with all of their family. I have no doubt whatsoever that the court would decide that it was in your granddaughters interest to have regular contact with you and make a contact order requiring the mother to grant this contact.
You should seek the leave of the Court to apply for a contact order without further delay.
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I very much sympathise with you and what is not an easy problem to resolve. The only easy part to answer is regarding your son's school. Write to them advising that you have parental responsibility and they will then have a duty to keep you informed over his education. The head teacher will check the position but from experience having done so will co-operate.
Otherwise you are talking about enforcement of an existing order which always causes problems for the courts. The difficulty is what can they do if your son's mother persists in defying the orders made. The usual remedy is imprisonment for contempt of court but although this has been known to happen it is unusual if locking the mother up is considered not to be in the child's best interest.
You may certainly make an application back to the court on the existing contact order, but my advice is to apply for a residence order. This will put you in the driving seat so far as your son is concerned, but need not involve radical changes as you could agree long-term contact with the mother much along the lines of what is happening at present.
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I am not sure what money you need to continue with what I am taking to be an application for contact with your child.
Unless the circumstances are totally exceptional you can deal with this yourself without employing a solicitor.
What you are talking about is ensuring that your child knows his or her father which is their right and not the sort of thing that should be given up on by you. You should proceed and act for yourself.
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I am sorry but there is absolutely nothing that you can do to prevent your daughter's mother from moving home. The law will support you however by way of a contact order to assist you in continuing to play a regular part in your daughter's upbringing
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As you were married to your former husband at the time of your son’s conception, your former husband will automatically have parental responsibility which cannot be removed by the by a court or yourself. It does not necessarily follow from this however that he will have rights of contact which can only be decided by you as the parent with day-to-day care or by a court on application by your son's father. An order for contact will only be made if such is in your son's best interest. Although there is a presumption that contact with both parents is in a child's best interest-the circumstances here could show that this is an exception where a contact order would be refused unless some commitment is shown by the father.
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How your child was conceived is irrelevant at this stage. You are the only person with parental responsibility and may therefore make the decision to move with your child to France without obtaining the consent of the father. If he wished to stop you moving, he would have to take the initiative and apply to the court who would then decide matters on what was in the child's best interest. It would be quite inconceivable that a decision could be made to prevent your child accompanying you to France.
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Your grandson has previously enjoyed a happy and beneficial relationship with you and there is no reason why a court minded of what is in the child's best interest would not make orders that he continues to have contact with you. My only question is why you and not your son must make the application as he certainly should be included in a contact order. He may apply as of right but as grandparents you would first have to obtain the leave of the court although I suspect this would be given without difficulty.
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It is your child who has the right to know and have contact with its father. These rights are not affected by the issue of maintenance paid or not paid and the advantage to everybody concerned here would be for you to try to agree sensible and reasonable contact arrangements with the father.
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Should this problem ever come before a court, it will be a case of deciding whether the risk to your children by coming into contact with this woman outweigh the benefits to them of them having contact with their father. You must ask yourself this question and if the danger is so great your duty may be to safeguard your children by refusing further contact.
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Clearly your daughter’s contact with her father is proving not to be in her best interest. As such the court is most likely to vary the existing order but it is for you to make the application. This is something which you must do having first come to a decision as to what if any contact should be allowed and incorporated into an order.
The process of applying for a variation of a contact order is not particularly difficult and guidance can be obtained from our website.
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It would be considered by the court quite normal and usual for a two-year-old to stay over night with a non resident parent. The mother's reasons for refusing this will carry little weight as it is incumbent on her in the circumstances to explain to your son the not unusual circumstances of mummy and daddy having separate homes.
You must look for long-term solutions as it is vital that you have quality time with your son if you are to play a full part in his upbringing. There is unlikely to be any solution other than to obtain a contact order from the court.
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A court does have the power to make a ' no contact ' order but is most unlikely to do so simply because a parent has had no contact for a lengthy period. Should this father apply for contact the application would have to be considered on its merits at the time.
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The arrangements concerning your children which you are asking for is totally reasonable, would be considered so by a court, and must be in the children's best interest. It is important that you be involved in their education and as they grow older and school becomes an important part of their life, it is essential that you be involved and identified with their schooling, not only by collecting them from school but with the school itself.
I fear that the refusal to allow you to collect from school could well be the tip of the iceberg and if so you must establish your position as their father firmly and now. This will indeed call for an application for a contact order to regulate the position.
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The law does not take it upon itself to lay down a fixed amount of time when a parent should have contact with their children. When this cannot be agreed between the parents, the matter can be referred to a court where an order will be made in accordance with what is in the child’s best interest.
If you and your partner are not able to agree contact arrangements with the mother you should make an application to the court for a contact order.
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I agree entirely with your that it would seem far too early to risk the confusion that could be caused by your daughter coming into contact with the various new partner is of her father. The problem you have however is that there may be no halfway stage between persuading him to act more responsibly and an application to the court. It matters did go to the court they would have to make the difficult decision of whether the benefits to your daughter of seeing her father were outweighed by being brought into contact with various third parties. I have to say that it is unlikely that any orders would be made curtailing contact without very definite evidence of harm. My advice therefore can only be along the lines of continuing to try to persuade him, possibly with the support of a third party or mediation.
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There is no law as such in the UK that grandparents should have access to their grandchildren. However all other things being equal this would be expected by the courts as being in the children's best interest, and if such contact is denied by those with parental responsibility for the children, appropriate court orders will be made.
If you are being denied contact with your grandchildren it is open to you to make an application under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 for a contact order. The court in considering this will be guided by the presumption that it is in the children's best interest to have contact with their grandparents and it is highly likely that an order will be made. If you require help and guidance on making this application you should please let me know and I will be happy to advise further.
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This must indeed be very distressing for you and your family. More relevantly however from a family court's viewpoint, it must be very distressing and against the best interest of your nieces for them to be prevented from seeing you and your family. This is something which the court would be most likely to remedy by making an order that you will have contact with the girls
What the social worker has told you is quite correct although clearly most unsatisfactory.Your sister has parental responsibility which is not affected by the girls being in foster care.As such she has the right to prevent you from seeing the. children. However clearly she is not exercising her parental responsibility to the best advantage of her daughters. It is well-established that it is in the best interest of children to be in regular touch with relatives. A court would have little difficulty in deciding this and making a contact order in your favour. I can see little alternative to such an application.
Applying for a contact order need not be difficult nor expensive. We would be pleased to assist you in this application if so required.
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The best way to resolve problems concerning children is by agreement and discussion between the parents. However sometimes this is not possible and if it is indeed the case that your daughter’s mother intends to act against the girls interest by refusing them access to you, then you have no alternative other than to ask the court to make an order that you have contact with them.
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Legal rights concerning children are those of the children rather than the parents. These children will be considered to have the right to regular contact with their father and this is unlikely to be affected by your relationship with another person. Remember that you will have parental responsibility/the exactly equal to your wife's when these children are born.
Whilst you remain married to your wife you have financial unity and it is for you and her to sort out payment of family commitments without outside interference. This will change if the marriage is considered at an end and divorce proceedings contemplated. In other words is nothing you can do unless you are thinking of divorce
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I am sorry to hear of these problems. It has been established that agreements made between parents concerning their children have a greater chance of succeeding than arrangements ordered by a court. However as in all matters there are exceptions. If you are of the opinion that the situation will be helped by the making of a contact order, I can see absolutely no reason why this should not be done.
Your daughter is suffering stress, there is a hearing in a little more than a week, and you have paid your solicitor a not insignificant amount of money. It is quite inexcusable that your solicitor is not in regular contact and more so that messages are not promptly returned. Your difficulty is of course that it would be problematical to make changes at this stage
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This will present no problem but you should advise the court and ask that the existing Residence Order in your favour be rescinded.
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If it is made clear to the court that your son, having full understanding of the situation and independently of any pressure from you, is adamant that he will not see his father, the court will not make an order which is unlikely to be complied with. Decisions are made in accordance with what is in child's best interest and it would seem that here it would not be in his best interests to force contact with someone he does not wish to see.
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This would very much seem to be a case where contact needs to be regularised by the court making a contact order. This will order the mother to allow you contact and do away with any certainty. You should apply immediately for a contact order and ask that whilst this is being decided an interim contact order be made. Full details of how do this are available on our website.
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You may not act on your daughter's behalf but may certainly assist her as what is known as a McKenzie friend. I am sure that this would prove more satisfactory than a legal representative in whom she has no confidence. It is of course important that you and your daughter understand the law and how questions of parental responsibility and contact are decided.
Although the court would have power to order your daughter to make the child available at a convenient place for the father, this is unthinkable in this case. It would seem extremely unlikely that direct contact would be made initially and even were this to be the case, the court will be looking for commitment from the father and require him to travel to collect.
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If your child's father is refusing to contribute towards the child's maintenance you should take immediate steps to ensure that he does so This will normally involve an application to the Child Support Agency. The system is far from perfect but unless there is a very good reason not to apply you should do so. If you are receiving benefits, the benefits agency will make the application on your behalf.
The question of the father's contact with your child can be a little more complicated. The deciding factor is whether it is in the child's best interest to have contact with his or her father. The presumption which can be rebutted is that it is in a child's best interest to have contact with both its parents. Thus it is likely that if a dispute develops, which it is necessary for a court to resolve, an order that the father have contact would be made if he is able to show that he could play a positive part in your child's life. Part of this however is helping to maintain the Child and he would be likely to have to explain his failure to do so. However if he is genuinely unable to pay maintenance but would play a positive part in your child's upbringing it is most likely that he would be allowed contact with the Child.
Whenever possible the question of contact should be agreed between parents, and without resort to the courts. This can be difficult where, as seems probable here, one party has been badly treated and deserted by the other, but it is always the child's best interest which is put first.
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If your child's father is refusing to contribute towards the child's maintenance you should take immediate steps to ensure that he does so This will normally involve an application to the Child Support Agency. The system is far from perfect but unless there is a very good reason not to apply you should do so. If you are receiving benefits, the benefits agency will make the application on your behalf.
The question of the father's contact with your child can be a little more complicated. The deciding factor is whether it is in the child's best interest to have contact with his or her father. The presumption which can be rebutted is that it is in a child's best interest to have contact with both its parents. Thus it is likely that if a dispute develops, which it is necessary for a court to resolve, an order that the father have contact would be made if he is able to show that he could play a positive part in your child's life. Part of this however is helping to maintain the Child and he would be likely to have to explain his failure to do so. However if he is genuinely unable to pay maintenance but would play a positive part in your child's upbringing it is most likely that he would be allowed contact with the Child.
Whenever possible the question of contact should be agreed between parents, and without resort to the courts. This can be difficult where, as seems probable here, one party has been badly treated and deserted by the other, but it is always the child's best interest which is put first.
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This would very much seem to be a case where contact needs to be regularised by the court making a contact order. This will order the mother to allow you contact and do away with any certainty. You should apply immediately for a contact order and ask that whilst this is being decided an interim contact order be made. Full details of how do this are available on our website.
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There is little if any connection between the payment of maintenance for a child and a parent’s contact with that child. Contact is for the benefit of a child and should not be withheld because of disputes over maintenance. You are clearly a caring father and have played a significant part in your daughter’s upbringing. Any court will be anxious for this to continue and is unlikely to hesitate before making a contact order in your favour. If it seems that this mother is likely to continue using your daughter as a weapon to extract money from you, you should apply to the court for a contact order without delay
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Legal rights concerning children are those of the children rather than the parents. These children will be considered to have the right to regular contact with their father and this is unlikely to be affected by your relationship with another person. Remember that you will have parental responsibility/the exactly equal to your wife's when these children are born.
Whilst you remain married to your wife you have financial unity and it is for you and her to sort out payment of family commitments without outside interference. This will change if the marriage is considered at an end and divorce proceedings contemplated. In other words is nothing you can do unless you are thinking of divorce
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The best way to resolve problems concerning children is by agreement and discussion between the parents. However sometimes this is not possible and if it is indeed the case that your daughter’s mother intends to act against the girls interest by refusing them access to you, then you have no alternative other than to ask the court to make an order that you have contact with them.
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There is no easy solution. Certainly nothing can be done to stop your former wife from moving to the Shetland Islands. The consequence of this is that clearly your son must either live in the Shetlands with his mother or with you.
Both his mother and yourself have equal rights with regard to your boy. The position of the courts is to expect you and her to work together and make your own arrangements for the best interest of your son. The courts will therefore only become involved when there is a dispute which cannot be resolved between the parents. The consequence of this is that if she does indeed move to the Shetlands and this proves to be permanent (which personally I doubt) then it is for you to come up with a contact plan. I appreciate how difficult this will be whilst your son is still a baby. However all the advantages are with cooperating with her so that at least when he is older he will be able to come and stay with you.
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Decisions about the education of a child and the school which is to be attended are an exception to the rule that each parent with parental responsibility can act independently of the other. Thus where there is not agreement, there is no alternative other than to refer the question to the court by way of an application for a specific issues order.
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It is well established that full time education includes time at university and therefore in common with similar orders maintenance will still be payable.
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A consent order, like any other order of the court, will continue until brought to an end either by a term of the order or by the court making a new order. Thus a party to a maintenance order would continue having to pay maintenance even if the child is living overseas until such time as the court on application by him should. vary the order. This does not of course take into account the difficulty which would be experienced in enforcing payment if it was not made.
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I am afraid that as your son is attending university this is taken as still undertaking full-time education. However the financial situation will have radically changed as presumably he will be living away from home and will be receiving student grants/loans.
In an ideal world it would be possible to discuss and agree the variation which must follow these changes to the maintenance you will pay. Sadly it would appear that this is impossible with your former wife. The only alternative can be an application to the court for downward variation of the existing order. Whether or not this will succeed must depend upon your income, your former wife's income, and the income and needs of your son.
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If you were not married your former partner has no duty to maintain you but as the father of your children he must provide maintenance for them. The Child Support Agency will decide how much maintenance he should pay and will arrange to collect regular payments from him and then pass them on to you. Had you been married you would have been entitled to ask the court to make an order that he pay maintenance for you.
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Although on study leave your son is still in full time education and certainly maintenance must still be paid in accordance with the order of the court.
An Order of the Court must be complied with until varied or cancelled. As I understand it the Order does not include a maintenance ‘holiday’ when your son is not attending college.
It is open to you to apply for a variation at any time if the circumstances prevailing when the Order was made have changed. The Court will order this father to give full disclosure of his income and self employed business records.
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No. There is no way he can be made to take a DNA test but if he is ordered to by the court and still refuses this is likely to make the court conclude that he is the father.
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Your girlfriends entitlement to the maintenance paid by her father will depend upon the wording of the court order. If the order is that the father pays maintenance to her mother for the benefit of your girlfriend it will be necessary to apply to the court for the order to be amended either for payment direct or to a responsible body.
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I am afraid that it is unlikely that your former husband now has any legal obligation to maintain the children unless they are still in full-time education.
his obligation to provide maintenance for you will depend upon the settlement reached in the divorce proceedings.
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There are two very separate issues here. The first as to child maintenance has to be left to the CSA. Once the claim is registered with them, no other legal action is possible. You should however inform them of the intended sales.
It could be that you have a claim for yourself against these properties if you contributed to the business whereby they were acquired. Much will depend upon whether there was a business partnership between you and your former partner. I will however need much more information before being able to advise on this.
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There are two very separate issues here. The first as to child maintenance has to be left to the CSA. Once the claim is registered with them, no other legal action is possible. You should however inform them of the intended sales.
It could be that you have a claim for yourself against these properties if you contributed to the business whereby they were acquired. Much will depend upon whether there was a business partnership between you and your former partner. I will however need much more information before being able to advise on this.
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Your children are entitled to have contact with their father quite irrespective of whether any maintenance is paid. Contact is a right of the children and can never be an conditional upon money being paid
As the father of these children you have a legal obligation to maintain them. Your partner's new husband has no obligation to maintain your children but will have an obligation to maintain his wife.
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If you're girlfriend is now resident and domiciled in Ireland with your child, it is to the Irish courts which she would have to apply for maintenance. If she is successful in obtaining an Order from maintenance against you, this order would then have to be enforced through the UK courts under reciprocal EU arrangements.
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I am afraid that you are going to have to leave enforcement to the CSA as they are dealing with collection of these arrears. They have powers to seize any goods or money belonging to your former partner, and you should pressurize them to do so. It is not possible to apply for enforcement through the Courts unless a Court has made an Order for maintenance to be paid.
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One of the objects of the divorce legislation is to allow people to plan their financial affairs after a divorce without fear of something like this coming along and hitting them in the face. Nearly 10 years ago the court made a final order in divorce proceedings which dealt with all capital assets including your pension. It is certainly not possible for your former wife to now come back and effectively seek to vary that Order and ask for more.
Maintenance is however different. I suspect that what your former wife is seeking toi do is to 'capitalise' the maintenance to which she sees herself as entitled. In other words for you to pay her a lump sum and the maintenance order then dismissed. Whether or not you could agree to this will depend upon all the circumstances.
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No this can not be done. It is a child’s legal right to be maintained by both parents and you may not give up that right on behalf of your children. Thus even if you accepted the lump sum offered he will still have an obligation to maintain them. This will only cease if the children are adopted.No good I’m afraid. A parent can not just sign away their paternal responsibility. You would have to apply to the Court for an Order and even then it would not remove his obligation to maintain. You have to think of what would happen were you to die during their minority and someone else have to care for them They would be obliged to claim maintenance from the father. And if at any time you needed to claim state benefit you would be obliged to authorise the benefits agency and CSA to claim against him.
If you really want to go ahead with this there is only one way. You could enter into a private under the counter agreement with him that in consideration of the lump sum you agree to indemnify him against any claims on him for maintenance for the children. This would probably be legally binding but there could be arguments that it is void as being against public policy but he would not know that.
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There is little if any connection between the payment of maintenance for a child and a parent’s contact with that child. Contact is for the benefit of a child and should not be withheld because of disputes over maintenance. You are clearly a caring father and have played a significant part in your daughter’s upbringing. Any court will be anxious for this to continue and is unlikely to hesitate before making a contact order in your favour. If it seems that this mother is likely to continue using your daughter as a weapon to extract money from you, you should apply to the court for a contact order without delay
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I am afraid that your situation again shows the difference between married and unmarried couples and provision for children when a relationship breaks down. Although the father is certainly obliged to provide maintenance, I am afraid that there is no obligation on him to provide a home for your daughter.
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Should you both die without appointing a guardian for your children your wishes would not be taken into account and who wll care for your children decided by social services. It is therefore wise to appoint a guardian either by seperate deed or in your will.
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No this is not a case for a residence but for a Special Guardianship Order.
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What you are asking for is absolutely right and proper. Your granddaughter needs permanency and stability for her upbringing.
This would seem to be very much a case where a special guardianship order could be made by the court. You can read about special guardians on our website and I suggest that you consider advising social services that you will wish to be made the special guardian of your granddaughter.
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This does not sound like a case for guardianship or special guardianship as you are very much still on the scene and able to care for your children. What is needed is for you to agree to share your parental responsibility for the children with your husband. This will give him full legal responsibility for them equal to your own.
As the children's biological father does not have parental responsibility himself then his consent and agreement is not required.
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Your situation screams out for the making of a special guardianship order. These are relatively new orders available under a recent amendment to the Children Act and intended especially for situations such as yours.
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If your son is still a minor on the death of his mother you will be the sole person with parental responsibility and if you are prepared and able to care for him the presumption is that you will do so. The grandmother will have no rights save by agreement from you or order of the Court.
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No. If his former girlfriend is determined to have an abortion, and providing it is carried out in accordance with the law, there is no action he can take to stop her.
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Much depends on whether or not you are married and whether the father has parental responsibility. If the father does have parental responsibility, then in his written consent is required before you can change your child's surname.
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What happens if my name is not put on the birth certificate? What steps do I have to take to ensure I have parental rights? Is it advisable to get a paternity test done to establish legally that I am it's father? You may need to apply for a parental responsibility order and if you wish a specific issues order to determine paternity
2. Surname, I don’t appear to have any say in this, she is adamant that she is going to give it her surname which is currently her 2nd ex husbands surname, not her maiden name which I think is pathetic (she has been married twice, has two children by her 1st husband, a 3rd child by her 2nd husband, so there are 2 with one surname, a 3rd with a different surname), she could also in the future decide to get married, so what happens then? Does she then change my baby's surname again? I don’t believe this is in the best interests of the baby as when it is older it will just cause confusion about who it’s father is, but also I am the last in my family line I would like the baby to have my surname, she has changed her mind on this a number of times now but I have read of cases where the surname has been successfully changed by a court order as it was deemed in the best interests of the baby to have a biological recognized by name as well as access and quality time together. What are my chances of success? She is not open to compromise, as anyone ever had this?
Once you have parental responsibility you have the right to be involved in deciding the child’s name
3. I know during the early stages a baby should be with it's mother, but the baby needs to get used to having two homes as soon as possible. When the baby is at an appropriate age I would like to apply for a shared residence, at what age has the child got to be before I can apply for this?
There is no reason to delay. Extra contact could be given to the mother whilst the child is very young.
4. My ex has virtually no support network, where I have the full backing of my family and friends, will the courts take this into account if she decides to get difficult about access? Yes very important consideration
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You certainly have cause for complaint about this lack of discipline and clear absence of control by the teacher in charge and the school. This is fairly gross and it may indeed be possible to establish a claim for damages based upon the schools breach of their duty of care to your son. The only real question can therefore be whether you wish to take legal action against the school or would you be content to make a spirited complaint and receive the apology to which you are due.
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It is indeed the case that you have no legal responsibility to house and maintain this boy and are fully entitled to exclude him from your home. The difficult is therefore practical rather than legal. It would be possible to obtain a court Injunction ordering him to remain away but I suspect that you would prefer not to go down this rather heavy route which in any event would prove fairly expensive. However if you require further information on this, let me know. Otherwise you might possibly approach social services who might be able to assist.
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I am sorry to hear of these problems. It has been established that agreements made between parents concerning their children have a greater chance of succeeding than arrangements ordered by a court. However as in all matters there are exceptions. If you are of the opinion that the situation will be helped by the making of a contact order, I can see absolutely no reason why this should not be done.
Your daughter is suffering stress, there is a hearing in a little more than a week, and you have paid your solicitor a not insignificant amount of money. It is quite inexcusable that your solicitor is not in regular contact and more so that messages are not promptly returned. Your difficulty is of course that it would be problematical to make changes at this stage
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I am afraid that you cannot unilaterally revoke parental responsibility once obtained. Parental responsibility can only be removed by order of the court on application for a specific issues order where it is shown that a parent's parental responsibility is not in the best interest of the child.
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Although your former partner signed your son's birth certificate nine years ago it would not seem that he will have parental responsibility. Providing that this is the case and that you have sole parental responsibility you should consider entering into a parental responsibility agreement with your husband which will share that parental responsibility with him. Adoption is not appropriate. A suitable parental responsibility agreement package is available for download from the Legal-Zone website.
Although there is little you can do to prevent your son's father applying for contact should you so choose, such an application is extremely unlikely to be considered as in your son's best interest and would be refused.
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If you have PR in the UK and your child is living in the UK under the jurisdiction of the UK Court all the rights will apply including the need for the other parent with PR to need either your consent or the leave of the Court to remove the child overses. Has this been obtained for the child to move to Denmark? If so Danish law will apply although it is unlikely that a court in that country would deny you their equivalent of PR.
If you have PR you can most certainly apply for the child not to removed to Australia.
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You and your son now live under the jurisdiction of the UK Courts who are not bound by Canadian Court Orders but may well find them persuasive. It would seem that your son’s father does not have parental responsibility for him and without this he will have no rights under UK law and if he does not live in the UK can not claim any such rights.
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Parental responsibility can be shared with you as a stepparent by all persons currently having parental responsibility. Thus if your wife is the only person with parental responsibility she may sign a simple parental responsibility agreement in which she shares parental responsibility with you. However should the children's biological father have parental responsibility, then his agreement will also be required
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Providing that you are able to find out her address in order to serve the papers, I can see no problem.
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This is nowhere near as difficult as you may suppose. In fact there is little to be done from a legal viewpoint other than for you to obtain parental responsibility.
Firstly there is no such thing now as the custody of a child. The court will only make orders relating to such things as residence and contact of a child and then only where there is a dispute between the parents.
Very fortunately it does not appear that there is any dispute here and therefore no need to obtain what would be a residence order.
As you were not presumably married to your sons mother, you will not have parental responsibility and it is important that you should obtain this. There should be no particular difficulty there if your son’s mother agrees and a parental responsibility agreement is all that is needed.
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This will be no problem providing that your children's mother consents to parental responsibility being shared with your girlfriend. Providing this is the case it will simply be necessary for all concerned to enter into a parental responsibility agreement. The necessary can be downloaded from our website with full instructions for a charge of £14 99. The only difficulty I can see is that it will be necessary for the mother to attend with you to sign the agreement
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I have to congratulate your former wife as she has come up with an argument I have not heard before in over 20 years. It is however a complete and utter rubbish. Your parental responsibility is exactly the same and equal to that of their mothers and it is quite irrelevant who the children are living or staying with. You have an absolute right to information concerning their education, health, medical treatment and the like and if you're former wife refuses to provide this she could be ordered to do so by the court on application for a specific issues order.
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It is not possible to just give up parental responsibility for a child. It can only be removed by order of the court and it is going to be necessary for you to apply to the court for an order this person no longer has parental responsibility for your three-year-old. If an order is made your former husband should know that it does not affect his obligation to pay maintenance and support his daughter.
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There must be a strong suspicion that you are being misled by the mother and she intends to remove the children from behind your back which can not be in their best interest and which would be condemned by a court.
You must obtain a parental responsibility order if she will not sign a PR agreement. This will enable you t have a say in where the children live and mean that your consent must be obtained before she is able to remove them overseas. I can see little point in a contact order alone if they are to live in Cyprus unless she intends to refuse you contact there.
The problem however is that a PR Order will not be made without service of the papers upon her. Service will be your responsibility and you are going to have to find her whereabouts therefore. Let me know if I can help further
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The rules are that for parental responsibility to be shared with another, all persons having parental responsibility must give their written agreed you. Here you are the only person with parental responsibility and you are therefore quite at liberty to share this with your partner.
There is a special form of agreement for granting parental responsibility to a step parent which is the one you will need.
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You may not act on your daughter's behalf but may certainly assist her as what is known as a McKenzie friend. I am sure that this would prove more satisfactory than a legal representative in whom she has no confidence. It is of course important that you and your daughter understand the law and how questions of parental responsibility and contact are decided.
Although the court would have power to order your daughter to make the child available at a convenient place for the father, this is unthinkable in this case. It would seem extremely unlikely that direct contact would be made initially and even were this to be the case, the court will be looking for commitment from the father and require him to travel to collect.
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The rules are that for parental responsibility to be shared with another, all persons having parental responsibility must give their written agreed you. Here you are the only person with parental responsibility and you are therefore quite at liberty to share this with your partner.
There is a special form of agreement for granting parental responsibility to a step parent which is the one you will need.
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Certainly you can apply to the court which made the residency order in favour of the mother for it to be varied. The matters which the court will take into consideration are set out in our Children e-book at: http://products.legal-zone.co.uk/children-ebook
The court may also make an order that no further applications for variation are made without prior permission of the court.
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Hi.
It will be necessary to apply to the court for a variation of your contact order. This is something we are able to prepare and assist with the procedure for a charge of £150.
Go to:http://legal-zone.co.uk/get_low_cost_legal_support and write us an email for all details.
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The Courts have powers to make such orders as required to safeguard the welfare of children and this cannot be over ridden by an agreement between the children’s parents. Thus any agreement reached will always be subject to review on application by one of the parties to a court.
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Whether or not you voluntarily or otherwise tell your son's mother where you are living will not resolve this problem. The situation clearly needs to be put in order for everybody's sake. If your son is to live with you it would probably be appropriate for you to obtain a residence order in order to regularise the position.
You need also to give very careful thought to what is in your son's best interest. Is it really in his best interest that he should not be allowed contact with his mother? Should you not put his fears at rest and assure him that you will protect him if he has contact.
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I appreciate your concerns and the court is quite able to make an order in the terms you mention. I suspect however that this would not be an answer to all your problems which is clearly fast developing into a difficult situation. If there is no prospect now of you and your husband getting back together it would be far better to regularise the situation by either dissolving the marriage or obtaining a judicial separation. This would enable you to obtain orders if necessary dealing with residence, contact, maintenance and other matters concerning your daughter. You also need final orders dealing with financial matters. If this can be done then hopefully both you and your husband can get on with separate lives and maintain a friendly relationship for the sake of your daughter.
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Although there is a presumption that it is in a child's best interest to know their birth parent, this would seem to be exactly the sort of case where this presumption is rebuffed.
Your grandson is well settled and treats your daughter's husband as his father. The disruption which would be caused into his lifestyle and that of the family is obvious. Taking into consideration his charecter and his problems and also the lifestyle of the father it is exteremely difficult to see that introduction of this person at this time would be in your grandson's best interest.
Q:
My son is now 15 and wants to come and live with me. What do I have to do legally to arrange this
A:
The reality of the situation is that your son is old enough to decide where he wants to live and that it would not be in his interest to make him live elsewhere. I do not know whether any orders have been made by the court dealing with residence, and if there is a residence order in favour of his mother it could be necessary to have this varied. Otherwise my advice is that your son should simply come and live with you whilst keeping in regular contact with his mother. The Court is relauctant to make Orders concerning children of uour son's age and can not do so in usual circumstances once a child has reached 16.
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The law does not lay down any strict rules to cover this sort of situation.
Indeed the thrust of the law is to encourage parents to come to their own agreement over such practical matters as contact arrangements and only to step in when this is not possible. The sensible solution here would certainly be an arrangement to meet halfway. I would suggest that therefore that you tell the children's father where and when he may collect the children. If he does not like this it will be for him to go to the expense of applying to the court for them to decide matters. You will have been acting perfectly reasonably and I have absolutely no doubt that the court would agree and confirm your decision.
Obviously if this is a father who does not care enough for his children to put himself out and spend the money needed to visit them they would have to be some doubt as to whether continuing contact is in their best interest.
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An unmarried father has no automatic right to see his children but if this is denied he may apply to the court for a contact order. Although the courts are normally reluctant to deprive a parent of all contact with their children, this is not because they have a right but because it is usually in the children's best interest to have regular contact with both parents. If your children's father should apply to the court for contact it is probable that a court welfare officer will be asked to prepare a report to help the court to determine what the children want and whether it is in their best interest to see their father.
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No. It is unlikely to be in the children's best interest that they do not see their grandchildren and a court would order her to let you see the children as it is in their best interest to do so. Unless she can be persuaded to be reasonable you will have no alternative other than to apply to the court for a contact order.
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The law here is quite certain. You are obviously a caring father who wishes to play a part in the upbringing of your children. It is well established that it is in children's best interest to have contact with both parents where this is possible and the court will therefore have no hesitation in ordering that contact should take place.
The answer to the position you find yourself in is equally straightforward. If everything possible has been done to persuade your son's mother that personal animosity has no place here and that she should act in your son's best interest you must-for your son's sake-refer matters to court. This is not particularly difficult and there is little need in most cases for legal representation.
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It is an excellent idea to share the care of children and that it is not something that has to be applied for but simply to put into practice. The reason however should not be so that you can claim state benefits. Child benefit will be paid to only one parent.
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No- it is not too late although your introduction to your daughter will have to be gradual.
If your daughter's mother will not agree to work with you to bring you into your daughter's life it will be necessary to ask the Court to make a Contact Order. You will need to demonstrate your commitment and show that you will be a positive influence on your daughter.
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I am afraid that I may not have much good news for you. There is absolutely nothing that you can do to stop your husband's former wife from moving wherever she chooses. The only question is whether the children should move with her. Your husband has parental responsibility for them which includes the right to be consulted about where they should live etc. If he can not agree this with the children's mother, then the question can be put before a court by way of an application for a specific issues order. The issue will would presumably be whether the children would live with you all with their mother 300 miles away. The court would determine this by considering what is in the children's best interest. On the one hand it is probably in their best interest to remain where they are, continue going to the same school, and be around their friends. On the other hand there is bound to be a strong case for them staying with their mother who has always been the principal carer even though the cost of this might be less frequent contact with their father.
These are the general principles. It is a fine line to tread and without more detail I would be unable to advise whether an application would be likely to succeed.
A:
I am so sorry to hear of the problems you are experiencing in having contact with your grandchild. The question which needs to be answered is not so much whether you have a legal right to see your grandson as whether he has the right to see you as his grandparents. The answer to that question is a categorical yes and a right which is likely to be enforced by the courts.
I am also concerned reading your question as to your son's rights. It seems clear that he wishes to play a full part as Father in your son's upbringing. It was not however seem that at the present time he has parental responsibility for the Child. This should be obtained either by agreement from the mother or application to court and is then he will have equal responsibility with your grandson's mother for the child and the right to bring him to see you.
My advice is for your son to obtain parental responsibility. It is also for you to find out the reason behind this peculiar refusal by his girlfriend. You must meet and discuss your quite natural requirement with her. You can do this in the sure confidence that I have ever necessary, the court would enforce your grandson's right to know his grandparents.
A:
The behaviour of your partner's former wife is clearly unreasonable and pays no regard to the best interests of the children.It is unlikely to change and certainly in my experience, mediation even if agreed would have been a total waste of time and money.
You are absolutely right in saying that when deciding matters concerning children, the interest of the child is the court's paramount interest. It has been decided time after time that the best interest of children is to remain in regular contact with both parents following breakdown of a marriage. Thus there can be no sensible doubt that any court would order that your partner have proper and meaningful contact with his children.
The circumstances here are that the only effective route open is to apply to the court for a contact order. I am amazed and horrified that you have been told that this could cost more than £5,000. It need only cost a few hundred. The procedure is relatively straightforward and there are no particularly difficult legal issues.
A:
I am not sure as to exactly what has been served upon you. Is it an application for a residency order which will be on a form C1.It is most unlikely that an actual residency order would be made without prior notice to you.
When applying for a residence order it is no longer necessary to include a full statement of facts in support of the application.
I would be happy to assist you further but before I am able to do so I will need much further information from you. In particular I will need to knowthe ages of your children and with whom they are living now. Please get in touch if you require further help.
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An absent parent's contact with children always works best when the arrangements are mutually agreed between both parents. However when this is not possible, the court can be asked to define contact and make orders as to when it should take place. It is therefore possible for you to apply to the court for a defined contact order.This need not be expensive if yo are able to carry out most of the work yourself. We provide a kit to assist at a nominal price. One problem however is the rigidity of such an order which does not allow for flexibility such as changes when you return to work.
Your position does seem unsatisfactory in that your marriage is clearly over and it may well be best for it to be dissolved by way of divorce now and at the same time deal with issues concerning your sons and any outstanding financial matters.
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People who ignore the orders of a court run a very real risk of being sent to prison. Such behaviour is rarely in the interest of the children.
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It is quiteirrelevant that these grandparents live in France. They are the grandparents of UK children, and the UK courts have the power on application with leave by the grandparents under S8 of the Children Act 1989 to make a contact order. In considering such an application the court must decide whether it is in the children’s interest to have contact with their grandparents. There is a presumption that it is usually in children’s interests to have such contact with all family members.
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I am afraid that there can only be one solution to this problem and that is an application to your local County Court for a contact order. It may well be that once proceedings have been issued the mother having taken advice will accept that what is in issue hear is the well-being of the children and that this calls for them to have full and proper contact with their father.
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There is absolutely no reason why you cannot deal with this yourself as you intend. The procedure is quite straightforward although before proceeding you should make yourself away or of the criteria which the court takes into consideration when deciding these matters. Also be aware that the concept of custody of a Child no longer applies. Both you and your former wife have and will retain what is known as parental responsibility. The order you will be seeking is a residence order which will set out where your children are to live and who will have day to day care of do them.
Application for a residence order is made on court form C1.
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You must take urgent action concerning your children. This must be by way of an application to the County Court for a Contact or Residence order under S8 of the Children Act 1989.
I think you must also give serious thought to whether or not this is a divorce situation. If it is you should petition for divorce on the grounds of your wife’s unreasonable behaviour and that the same time apply for an interim Contact Order. It is near certain that the court will order that you will have reasonable contact with your children.
Your wife is not permitted to change your children’s surname without your consent or an order of the court. The latter is most unlikely to be granted and it may well be necessary for you to apply to the court for a Prohibited Steps Order in order to restrain your wife.
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This cannot be allowed to continue. It would seem that this isone of those unfortunate cases where contact by the children with their father is causing them harm and that there is little alternative other than to call upon the court to regulate the children’s father’s contact and make appropriate orders to protect the children.
Supervised contact springs to mind but as the parent with day-to-day care of the children it is for you to decide what if any contact is in the children’s interest at this time. When making such orders the court has almost unlimited powers but you should remember that the children are yours and first and foremost it is for you decide what is best for them. It is then likely that the court would follow your wishes and make them legally binding.
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I fear that you may be labouring under some presumption that your wife as the mother has an advantage when the question of whom a child should live with is decided. This is certainly not the case. From what you say it would appear obvious that your daughter is better off living with you and I have no doubt that such would be ordered. Her wishes are most important and with a teenager the Court would be most reluctant to order her to live where she did not wish.
A:
As I understand it your partner’s ex. is now insisting upon meeting you and visiting your house to inspect the arrangements for her son's contact with your partner. You ask whether she is entitled to do so and whether you could be made to meet her and allow her into your house. The answer is a categorical No. You are under no obligation to meet her and you cannot be made to allow her into your house.
The difficulty however is that this insistence by her shows all the hallmarks of a developing dispute over contact between your partner and his sons mother. If it is at all possible this should be avoided and I am sure you will wish to play your part in avoiding a situation which although not your fault is bound to be unpleasant, stressful, and damaging for all involved not least the children.
My fear is that if you continue to refuse her request to meet and inspect your house, however unreasonable this may be, it could be used by her as an excuse to refuse contact. It would then be for your partner to apply to the court for a contact order. I have no doubt whatsoever that this would be granted but you would still be involved in the hassle and possible expense of having to make the application. The court process will take time during which you could be denied contact. Even if (and when) contact is ordered to be resumed, there can be real problems with enforcing the order if the child's mother continues to be obstructive.
A:
I will answer your question this way. Two parents have absolutely identical parenting skills and both are equally capable of caring for the child. One parent however agrees with the principle that it is in the child’s best interest to have regular and meaningful contact with the other parent and the second parent has been shown to consistently obstruct this. Who do you think would be awarded residence?
I can not answer whether you would have to move. Probably not but it depends.
Applications such as this have traditionally been milking grounds for lawyers. This should not be so as what you would be applying for is not for you but your daughter. There is no reason whatsoever why you should not act in person-possibly with some guidance on the law and procedure
A:
Enforcement of contact orders has always presented problems for the Court. The guiding principle of the Children Act is the child’s best interest and that is rarely promoted by imprisoning or penal sanctions against a parent.
The accepted answer can be an application not for contact but for residence. This could be the answer for your partner as it would put him in the driving seat. There is no need for the actual time which the child spends with each parent to vary and I have known cases where a father has residence with a contact order for 6 days a week to the mother.
A:
This is a sad if not uncommon problem. Your difficulty is that Sophie and her mother are now living in Australia and will come under the Australian legal system. Any application would therefore have to be made to the Australian courts and in all probability this would require the expense of employing an Australian lawyer.
You will appreciate the I have no knowledge of Australian law but I think it is safe to say that you just have to persevere with persuading the mother to consider Sophie's interests first and the obvious fact that it is in her best interests to have contact with a father who cares.
A:
A contact order which defines and sets out the dates and times of your contact with your son would probably be available from the Court. This would not necessarily resolve the problem however as there could well be enforcement problems and you can not go running back to Court every time this mother is awkward and refuses to co operate with the flexibility which there has to be with contact arrangements.
The only answer can be to try to install some measure of understanding in her. This is probably one of those occasions where mediation could help. Depending upon your financial circumstances this could be available under the public funding scheme or possibly through such as Relate or one of the voluntary mediation organisations.
A:
Of course it is not reasonable for a babe of such tender years to be away from his mother for so long and that can not be in his best interest. Your daughter is being quite reasonable and must stick by the very proper contact she is offering.
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This should not be allowed to happen. Your boyfriend should seek an interim care order which can be made without delay.
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Orders concerning children can be varied at any time
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There are many, myself included, who will say that mediation is a total waste of time in many disputes concerning children. However it is favoured by the Legal Services Commission and a condition of public funding for a Children Act case is that mediation is attempted before the issue of court proceedings. I can therefore only advise you to co-operate and go through the formalities of a mediation which will present you with clean hands if matters progress from there. The cost must of course be born by the other side.
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There is the strongest of presumptions that it is in a child's best interest to have regular and meaningful contact with all of their family. I have no doubt whatsoever that the court would decide that it was in your granddaughters interest to have regular contact with you and make a contact order requiring the mother to grant this contact.
You should seek the leave of the Court to apply for a contact order without further delay.
A:
I very much sympathise with you and what is not an easy problem to resolve. The only easy part to answer is regarding your son's school. Write to them advising that you have parental responsibility and they will then have a duty to keep you informed over his education. The head teacher will check the position but from experience having done so will co-operate.
Otherwise you are talking about enforcement of an existing order which always causes problems for the courts. The difficulty is what can they do if your son's mother persists in defying the orders made. The usual remedy is imprisonment for contempt of court but although this has been known to happen it is unusual if locking the mother up is considered not to be in the child's best interest.
You may certainly make an application back to the court on the existing contact order, but my advice is to apply for a residence order. This will put you in the driving seat so far as your son is concerned, but need not involve radical changes as you could agree long-term contact with the mother much along the lines of what is happening at present.
A:
A court does have the power to make a ' no contact ' order but is most unlikely to do so simply because a parent has had no contact for a lengthy period. Should this father apply for contact the application would have to be considered on its merits at the time.
A:
The arrangements concerning your children which you are asking for is totally reasonable, would be considered so by a court, and must be in the children's best interest. It is important that you be involved in their education and as they grow older and school becomes an important part of their life, it is essential that you be involved and identified with their schooling, not only by collecting them from school but with the school itself.
I fear that the refusal to allow you to collect from school could well be the tip of the iceberg and if so you must establish your position as their father firmly and now. This will indeed call for an application for a contact order to regulate the position.
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The law does not take it upon itself to lay down a fixed amount of time when a parent should have contact with their children. When this cannot be agreed between the parents, the matter can be referred to a court where an order will be made in accordance with what is in the child’s best interest.
If you and your partner are not able to agree contact arrangements with the mother you should make an application to the court for a contact order.
A:
I agree entirely with your that it would seem far too early to risk the confusion that could be caused by your daughter coming into contact with the various new partner is of her father. The problem you have however is that there may be no halfway stage between persuading him to act more responsibly and an application to the court. It matters did go to the court they would have to make the difficult decision of whether the benefits to your daughter of seeing her father were outweighed by being brought into contact with various third parties. I have to say that it is unlikely that any orders would be made curtailing contact without very definite evidence of harm. My advice therefore can only be along the lines of continuing to try to persuade him, possibly with the support of a third party or mediation.
A:
As you were married to your former husband at the time of your son’s conception, your former husband will automatically have parental responsibility which cannot be removed by the by a court or yourself. It does not necessarily follow from this however that he will have rights of contact which can only be decided by you as the parent with day-to-day care or by a court on application by your son's father. An order for contact will only be made if such is in your son's best interest. Although there is a presumption that contact with both parents is in a child's best interest-the circumstances here could show that this is an exception where a contact order would be refused unless some commitment is shown by the father.
A:
How your child was conceived is irrelevant at this stage. You are the only person with parental responsibility and may therefore make the decision to move with your child to France without obtaining the consent of the father. If he wished to stop you moving, he would have to take the initiative and apply to the court who would then decide matters on what was in the child's best interest. It would be quite inconceivable that a decision could be made to prevent your child accompanying you to France.
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Your grandson has previously enjoyed a happy and beneficial relationship with you and there is no reason why a court minded of what is in the child's best interest would not make orders that he continues to have contact with you. My only question is why you and not your son must make the application as he certainly should be included in a contact order. He may apply as of right but as grandparents you would first have to obtain the leave of the court although I suspect this would be given without difficulty.
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It is your child who has the right to know and have contact with its father. These rights are not affected by the issue of maintenance paid or not paid and the advantage to everybody concerned here would be for you to try to agree sensible and reasonable contact arrangements with the father.
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Should this problem ever come before a court, it will be a case of deciding whether the risk to your children by coming into contact with this woman outweigh the benefits to them of them having contact with their father. You must ask yourself this question and if the danger is so great your duty may be to safeguard your children by refusing further contact.
A:
Clearly your daughter’s contact with her father is proving not to be in her best interest. As such the court is most likely to vary the existing order but it is for you to make the application. This is something which you must do having first come to a decision as to what if any contact should be allowed and incorporated into an order.
The process of applying for a variation of a contact order is not particularly difficult and guidance can be obtained from our website.
A:
It would be considered by the court quite normal and usual for a two-year-old to stay over night with a non resident parent. The mother's reasons for refusing this will carry little weight as it is incumbent on her in the circumstances to explain to your son the not unusual circumstances of mummy and daddy having separate homes.
You must look for long-term solutions as it is vital that you have quality time with your son if you are to play a full part in his upbringing. There is unlikely to be any solution other than to obtain a contact order from the court.
A:
The best way to resolve problems concerning children is by agreement and discussion between the parents. However sometimes this is not possible and if it is indeed the case that your daughter’s mother intends to act against the girls interest by refusing them access to you, then you have no alternative other than to ask the court to make an order that you have contact with them.
A:
I am sorry to hear of these problems. It has been established that agreements made between parents concerning their children have a greater chance of succeeding than arrangements ordered by a court. However as in all matters there are exceptions. If you are of the opinion that the situation will be helped by the making of a contact order, I can see absolutely no reason why this should not be done.
Your daughter is suffering stress, there is a hearing in a little more than a week, and you have paid your solicitor a not insignificant amount of money. It is quite inexcusable that your solicitor is not in regular contact and more so that messages are not promptly returned. Your difficulty is of course that it would be problematical to make changes at this stage
A:
This must indeed be very distressing for you and your family. More relevantly however from a family court's viewpoint, it must be very distressing and against the best interest of your nieces for them to be prevented from seeing you and your family. This is something which the court would be most likely to remedy by making an order that you will have contact with the girls
What the social worker has told you is quite correct although clearly most unsatisfactory.Your sister has parental responsibility which is not affected by the girls being in foster care.As such she has the right to prevent you from seeing the. children. However clearly she is not exercising her parental responsibility to the best advantage of her daughters. It is well-established that it is in the best interest of children to be in regular touch with relatives. A court would have little difficulty in deciding this and making a contact order in your favour. I can see little alternative to such an application.
Applying for a contact order need not be difficult nor expensive. We would be pleased to assist you in this application if so required.
A:
This would very much seem to be a case where contact needs to be regularised by the court making a contact order. This will order the mother to allow you contact and do away with any certainty. You should apply immediately for a contact order and ask that whilst this is being decided an interim contact order be made. Full details of how do this are available on our website.
A:
There is little if any connection between the payment of maintenance for a child and a parent’s contact with that child. Contact is for the benefit of a child and should not be withheld because of disputes over maintenance. You are clearly a caring father and have played a significant part in your daughter’s upbringing. Any court will be anxious for this to continue and is unlikely to hesitate before making a contact order in your favour. If it seems that this mother is likely to continue using your daughter as a weapon to extract money from you, you should apply to the court for a contact order without delay
A:
Legal rights concerning children are those of the children rather than the parents. These children will be considered to have the right to regular contact with their father and this is unlikely to be affected by your relationship with another person. Remember that you will have parental responsibility/the exactly equal to your wife's when these children are born.
Whilst you remain married to your wife you have financial unity and it is for you and her to sort out payment of family commitments without outside interference. This will change if the marriage is considered at an end and divorce proceedings contemplated. In other words is nothing you can do unless you are thinking of divorce
A:
The best way to resolve problems concerning children is by agreement and discussion between the parents. However sometimes this is not possible and if it is indeed the case that your daughter’s mother intends to act against the girls interest by refusing them access to you, then you have no alternative other than to ask the court to make an order that you have contact with them.
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