|
If you and your child’s other parent or a grandparent or step parent are in disagreement about certain aspects of your child’s upbringing, you can ask the Court to decide the issue for you. The Court, with the help of the Child and Family Court Reporter,(more familiarly known as the CAFCASS Officer) will try to help you come to an agreement and only if that procedure fails will the Court make its own order and impose that upon you. There can be no doubt that it is better to have an arrangement that you have agreed than one you are ordered to comply with. That is why we, the CAFCASS Officer and the Judge or Magistrates will encourage you to try to agree and commend you for doing so.
Frequently, agreement is reached during the course of court proceedings anyway so it is useful to have an outline of the court procedure.
The law states that unless there is good reason otherwise, there is no need for a Court order on arrangements for the children where the parents are in agreement. This may mean that even if a Court application is made concerning your child, if you and the other parent come to an agreement, the Court may choose not to make an order. This is known as the “no order principle” and is based on the idea that generally it is the parents who know what is best for their children and the courts will only intervene where the parents cannot agree. Even then the judges actively encourage agreement between parents throughout any court process.
|
An application to court for any order relating to a child must always be regarded as the LAST RESORT. There is something to be said for the notion often expressed by judges that children are more harmed by the knowledge and experience of their parents arguing about them than by the fact of their parents’ separation in the first place.
Both local Family Proceedings and County Courts can decide matters relating to children though usually more complicated issues are dealt with by a County Court Judge and in really serious cases by a High Court Judge. The orders you can have from any court are :-
- Parental Responsibility
- Residence
- Contact
- Prohibited Steps
- Specific Issue
For all courts, an application form is sent (with the court fee) and then a first court appointment is fixed. In Magistrates Courts, the purpose of the first appointment is to make directions for the filing of written statements and the preparation of the CAFCASS report. In the County Court the first appointment is the opportunity for you to talk the issues through there and then with the CAFCASS Officer actually at the Court and we often find that disagreements are resolved as a result of these discussions at that first appointment. If they are, the District Judge may or may not make an order, depending on the circumstances, and it may not be necessary for you to go back to Court again.
|
If no agreement is reached, either as a result of discussions with the CAFCASS Officer or with our help in discussing the issues with the other solicitor, then:-
- Written statements are filed at Court.
- The CAFCASS Officer prepares a written report.
- There may be one or even two more preliminary court hearings for procedural matters to be dealt with.
- Finally the Magistrates or the Judge will hear evidence at a formal Court hearing and make a decision.
At any stage in this process, agreement may be reached. If so, we simply have to go before the Court and explain it. Often in these circumstances, the Magistrates or Judge will not even make an order. The law recognises, after all, that usually the best people to decide what is best for their child are the child’s parents.
|
