Solicitor of the Year Awards 2024
29 Apr, 2024
Posted By: FDC Law
Child custody and support in England and Wales
Want to talk? Request ConsultationArrangements for Children in England and Wales
If you and a former partner are experiencing difficulties reaching agreement about arrangements for your children, we can provide guidance and support through this challenging time. We can help with issues such as:
- Where your child or children should live
- How much time they spend with each parent
- Important decisions relating to their care, education, medical treatment, or religious upbringing
Whether the issue concerns day-to-day living arrangements or major choices about your child’s future, we are here to help you approach these matters with sensitivity and clear advice.
We can advise you on the most appropriate route to resolve matters. Court proceedings are generally a last resort, other options may include:
- Mediation, including hybrid mediation where your solicitor is involved in the process
- Collaborative Family law (round table meetings with both of you and both solicitors)
- Solicitor-led negotiations
- Arbitration
We can also deal with Court proceedings, if these become necessary
Child arrangement orders
These orders provide a clear framework to help parents and children move forward with stability and certainty. A child arrangement order can formally set out:
- Where a child will live, whether with a parent or another suitable person
- How a child will spend time with, or stay in contact with, someone they do not live with, most commonly the other parent
Specific issue orders
A specific issue order allows parents or carers to ask the court to make a decision on a particular dispute concerning parental responsibility.
This type of order may be used to settle questions such as:
- Which school a child should attend
- Whether a child should undergo medical treatment
- How religious beliefs should form part of the child’s upbringing
- Whether a parent who the child lives with can relocate abroad with the child
Prohibited steps orders
A prohibited steps order enables the court to stop a parent or carer from carrying out a specific action in relation to their parental responsibility, where that action is not considered to be in the child’s best interests.
This type of order may be used to prevent actions such as:
- Removing a child from their current school without the other parent’s consent
- Changing a child’s surname without permission
- Taking a child abroad
