How does child custody work when you separate?
At MyBump2Baby we work with Family Law Solicitors throughout the UK. Today we have a post from our family law solicitors in Sherborne – Mogers Drewett This expert article answers all your questions on how child custody works when you separate, including how often you are allowed to see your child.
If you are thinking about divorce and would like more information about the costs of divorce, you can read the article: How Much Does a Divorce Cost
This article covers:
How does child custody work when you separate
What do I do if my partner doesn’t let me access my child
How often am I allowed to see my child
How can I ensure the child residency/contact rights aren’t overridden?
How does child custody work when you separate?
First of all, it is important to state that while people often talk about child custody the term is no longer used in legal proceedings. The legal system instead refers to ‘contact’ and ‘residence’.
A residence order is a court order that decides which parent a child is to live with and who can take most of the decisions about a child’s care and upbringing.
A contact order requires a child to visit or stay with the person named in the order, or for that person and the child otherwise to have contact with each other
In the first instance the court will choose not to intervene and instead ask the parents to decide between them what would work best for them. If they cannot agree then the court will make an order to determine where a child lives and will either divide the child’s time equally between parents or give one residence and the other contact.
Contact or residence will not be granted where there is evidence that one or both of the parents are causing harm to the child, whether that be physical, emotional or sexual in nature.
There is an overriding presumption that an absent parent ought to have contact.
What do you do if your partner doesn’t let you have access to your child?
If you are not provided access to your child then you need to act immediately as this is likely to be detrimental to your existing relationship with your child.
If the relationship between parents is amicable and distance does not prevent meeting up easily, then in the first instance you might consider inviting the other parent to mediation.
It is really important to highlight that in order for mediation to work both parties must enter in to it with the right mind set. Mediation is not designed to give the answers but rather provide a framework to enable parties to discuss the issues and find a solution together. If one or both parties enter into mediation not understanding the problems or with the desire to work together to find a solution it will not work and will just delay the process.
If you are unable to engage in mediation or mediation is unsuccessful the next step would be to make an emergency application to the court.
There can sometimes be a delay in getting a hearing date from the court but once the hearing starts the court will usually authorise contact to be provided to the absent parent unless there is a good reason not to allow contact to proceed.
The courts view is that a couple of months of delay particularly with a young child can be damaging to an absent parents existing relationship and should be avoided.
How often am I allowed to see my child?
Every family is different and therefore there are many different contact regimes available to parents to ensure everyone can find a solution that works for them. The first question separating couples should ask themselves is what contact regime would suit their family.
Some parents choose to have a week on week off regime which may fit around their work pattern and therefore allows them to dedicate a lot of time to the children when then have them as they have sufficient time off.
If one parent is going to be the primary carer and have residence while the other has contact the usual regime granted by the court is every other weekend and one overnight each week.
In either scenario both will need to consider holiday time and holiday contact can range from 4 weeks a year to half of all the school holidays.
While flexibility is key to making these arrangements work it is important to remember that being too flexible can be confusing for children. Children like regime and constant changes from one house to another can be really unsettling.
How can I ensure the child residency/contact rights aren’t overridden?
When contact and residence of a child are enshrined in a court order, any breach will be contempt of court and can carry serious punishment. Often court orders will carry a penal notice to ensure that there is compliance.
If the court is becomes overtly concerned about a parent’s non-compliance with the order then the court can change residence. Therefore when there is non-compliance the matter should to be taken back to court as soon as possible.
Delay in taking action is damaging to your relationship with your child and creates problems when establishing new contact regimes.
To contact Mogers Drewitt Family Law solicitors in Sherborne visit their website.
Hi, I'm Emma and I'm MyBump2aby's family law, protection and financial editor. I'm passionate about better-informing parents on their choices when it comes to family law and family protection and financial matters.
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