Child Arrangements Order

A child arrangements order is a flexible order under section 8 Children Act 1989.  It can be used to:

• Resolve disputes about time spent with a child, including on a direct, indirect and supervised basis (formerly known as a contact order).
• Resolve disputes about a child’s living arrangements, including sole and shared care arrangements (formerly known as a residence order).
• Confer parental responsibility for a child upon a person holding a child arrangements order on a ‘live with’ basis.

Child arrangements orders can raise particularly complex fertility and family law issues in cases involving modern family forms and children conceived through assisted reproduction, which include:

• Ascertaining whether an individual is legally entitled to apply for a child arrangements order (e.g. in cases involving co-parents, known donors, surrogacy, non birth parents).
• Disputed applications for leave to apply for a child arrangements order (e.g. to try and prevent an individual from being able to apply for an order at the outset).
• Fact finding hearing (to determine contested allegations that are relevant to the decision the court makes in relation to the child’s welfare and the grant of a child arrangements order).
• Hard fought legal proceedings about the type of child arrangements order granted (e.g. ‘time spent with’ or ‘live with’ basis) to include frequency of time with or care of a child, acquisition and exercise of parental responsibility for a child, associated legal status and identity issues for modern families.

In determining a child arrangements order application, the child’s welfare is the court’s paramount consideration. The court must also take into account a range of legal factors known as ‘the statutory checklist’ contained in section 1(3) of the Children Act 1989 and any other factors that it considers relevant. Case law can also be taken into account, which is evolving and fast moving in relation to modern family forms and those with an assisted reproduction context. This makes it important to obtain specialist legal advice and proactively manage the legal issues from the outset.

Our specialist legal expertise spans both the fertility and family law sectors, enabling us to place family life on a firm legal basis for modern families and those formed through assisted reproduction.