Amending a Child Arrangements Order

Life hands us many changes over time. Those of us who have children know that life is constantly changing with them as they grow. If you have an order in place governing how and when your child should spend time with the other parent, you might need to consider what steps you should take if you need to change the arrangements under the terms of that order.

The first thing you must do is put forward the suggested amendments in writing to the other parent clearly setting out what variations you are seeking to the existing order.

Where parents are agreed as to amended or varied arrangements, the court will make no order unless there is a real need to do so. This is called the ‘non-intervention principle’.

In the event of there being no agreement to the proposed changes, the applicant parent should consider taking legal advice as a next step before embarking on the court proceedings. There are many things to consider before taking court action in order to ensure that the application you are making is correct.

The way the application is drafted and presented is important and this could affect the case later in the proceedings if not produced correctly. If the terms sought are not clear, this will cause problems later when the court hearings take place.

When reviewing an application to amend or vary a child arrangements order, the court will take into account very specific criteria which is set out in the Children Act of 1989. We can provide you with advice surrounding this and any application we produce for you will include reference to the checklist which the court will be considering on hearing the application.

Advice at an early stage can be very beneficial to establish whether the intended variation is something which the court is likely to agree with and in fact whether the court has power under the Children Act to make the order you are seeking.

If you are a Respondent to the application, it can be very helpful and reassuring to have advice and representation throughout the proceedings. Information as to the role of Cafcass and how they are likely to deal with matters can be very beneficial from the outset. Further into the proceedings, the court are likely to order both parties to produce Statements. The Statement is a very important document as it forms the basis on which the court consider the evidence from each of the parents. The content of the Statement can easily turn the proceedings in one party’s favour. We can assist you in getting your Statement correctly produced and filed with the court in readiness for your hearing.

If you would like to know more about these type of proceedings, please contact our Head of Family Law, Veronica Beard, via Veronica@bradleyhayneslaw.co.uk or 01905 900 919.