Following an application to Court, the Child Arrangements Order issued by the Court regulates residence and contact arrangements between children and their parent/guardians.
Once you have a Child Arrangements Order in place, it may eventually become the case that the arrangements within the Order are no longer suitable and changes are needed to update this.
What Is a Child Arrangements Order?
A Child Arrangements Order is a legally binding arrangement regulating who the children will reside with, and contact arrangements with the other parent.
Child arrangements Orders detail a range of things, including where your child will live, how often each parent gets to spend time with the child, and how the child will contact each parent via indirect contact whilst in the other parent’s care.
There is no standard Child Arrangement Order, as each Order depends on the specific circumstances of the child, and all decisions are made in the child’s best interest which is subjective to them. The court will consider factors from Section 1 of the Children Act 1989, such as the child’s wishes and feelings, their physical, emotional, and educational needs, how capable the parents are of meeting the child’s needs, and any harm the child has suffered or is at potential risk of suffering.
Can I Vary a Child Arrangements Order?
Varying a Child Arrangements Order means that you wish to change certain aspects of the Order. It is not unusual that you may want to amend the Order in the future if your circumstances change.
You may be able to change the original Order, provided the proposed changes are in the best interests of the child.
What Are the Reasons to Make a Change of Child Arrangements?
This could be for a number of reasons, including, for example:
- The children’s needs develop as they grow older. For example, as the children grow older, it may mean that they are more/less able to travel between the two homes, causing contact arrangements to need reconsideration.
- One parent’s health may have deteriorated which means that arrangements in respect of the children residing with them, or having contact may need to be varied.
- There may be a breakdown in the relationship between the children and one parent which requires provisions in respect of contact with them to be re-assessed.
- One parent may have well-founded concerns in respect of the welfare of the children whilst in the other parent’s care that have developed since the original order.
- One parent may be moving away from the local area, or changing shift patterns at work which mean that the contact provisions within the current order are not appropriate.
- Practically, it may be difficult for one parent to comply with the order, which means it may need reconsidering.
How Can the Child Arrangements Order be varied amicably?
Regardless of the reason for the variation, the initial steps are to liaise with the other parent to agree any amendments to the original child arrangements order. Often, parties are able to come together and vary the terms of the child arrangements order in line with their specific circumstances.
There are circumstances where this may not be successful; it may be a case that the parties are not on amicable terms, or alternatively during the course of discussions there is difficulty in reaching an agreement that both parties are happy with.
In such circumstances, mediation may be a possible alternative for both parties to discuss their respective concerns with an independent third party, in order to reach an agreement suitable for them both, without the need for issuing court proceedings.
Once you and the other parent have both agreed to the variation in light of your specific circumstances, you would require a draft Consent Order detailing the new arrangements. Each parent must sign the draft Consent Order and this must be submitted to the Court for approval.
Once the court approves the new arrangements in the Consent Order, the terms will become legally binding.
What if the varied terms can’t be agreed amicably?
If it is the case that no agreement can be reached through amicable means, then an application must be made to the Court to vary the existing child arrangements Order.
In order to do so, the Applicant Parent/Guardian must first attend a MIAM (Mediation Information and Assessment appointment). They then must prepare a C100 application and file this with the Court. The Court will process and issue the Application and the matter is then listed for a First Directions Hearing.
At the First Directions Hearing, if an agreement has been reached, the Court will issue a varied child arrangements Order.
If no agreement is reached by the First Hearing, then the Court will likely list the matter for further hearings. It may likely be the case that the court order CAFCASS (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) to become involved so that the children’s needs and wishes are carefully considered.
The Court will carefully consider the proposed variation sought in light of the children’s best interests and Welfare Checklist to ensure that they are appropriate before any order can be made.
Provided the Court are in agreement that the variation sought is appropriate, the variation will be approved and a new child arrangements order will be prepared reflecting the varied terms.
If the Court does not consider that the variation would be in the children’s best interests, then they will keep the existing order in place.
What Does the Court Consider When Making a Child Arrangements Order Variation?
The main issue the court takes into account when faced with an application for a change of child arrangements is to question whether the changes are in your child’s best interests. In the eyes of the court, this is the most important consideration which will be prioritized beyond any preferences of the parents.
The court will consider Section 1 of the Children Act 1989 and will also consider the wishes and feelings of your child and whether there might be any potential risks to their safety or welfare with the proposed changes. For instance, if either parent is involved with a new partner that has a criminal record or uses illegal substances. The court will also determine if both parents are able to meet their child’s needs with the new arrangements in place.
The court may also hear evidence from social workers or from Cafcass to help aid their decision-making process. The court could also ask Cafcass to write a report detailing how the new arrangements might affect your child. The outcome may be that the original Order still serves your child’s best interests and therefore it needs to remain in place.
What if the Order is not complied with?
If the original, or varied, order is not complied with, then the Court is able to take enforcement action against the Parent failing to comply.
An application for enforcement must be made to the Court.
The Court will then consider the allegations regarding non-compliance of the Order and assess whether a further hearing, or any further advise from CAFCASS is necessary.
If there has been an unreasonable breach of the Court order, then there are wide range of powers available to the Court, which can include variation of the original child arrangements order, imprisonment or fines.
Change of Child Arrangements Solicitors: How Can Laker Legal Solicitors Help?
At Laker Legal Solicitors, we have a dedicated team of family law solicitors on hand to assist with your family matters. We can assist you wherever you may be based and our family law solicitors are always happy to have a free initial no obligation discussion with you to see how we can help.
Please contact us today by completing our enquiry form or email us on info@lakerlegal.co.uk
