Private Law Children Proceedings

If you are going through a separation and are worried about the financial or logistical arrangements for your children’s care, we can help you through the process and ensure the best outcome for you all.

As a parent, when your relationship is breaking down, protecting your children from upset and harm is bound to be your top priority. But during a break-up, emotions can often run so high that it can be difficult to act in your children’s best interests, despite your best intentions. This is why it’s important to seek experienced legal advice as early as possible.

Our specialist team has extensive knowledge and expertise in childcare proceedings and can support you on a wide range of legal issues including:

• Parental responsibility
• Residence
• Contact
• Change of name

Often, parental disputes relating to arrangements for their children can be resolved through mediation, collaborative law or negotiations through solicitors, but if court proceedings are required, we’ll be there every step of the way to support you and your loved ones.

These are just some of the private children proceedings matters we can help you with:

• Child Arrangements Order – This relates to the arrangements relating to who the child is to live with and how much contact they can have with the other parent. An application can be made by a mother, father or anyone else with parental responsibility.
• Parental Responsibility Order – A person with parental responsibility has the right to make major decisions about the upbringing of a child. In certain circumstances, a father will not have parental responsibility and an application will need to be made to the court.
• Prohibited Steps Order – The court can prevent a certain action, such as a child being removed from their current school or from jurisdiction of England and Wales.
• Specific Issue Order – Sometimes, specific decisions may need to be made by the court to determine particular issues which may arise, such as which school a child should go to, which religion they should adopt or which name they should go by.

We know that there may also be other challenging circumstances relating to your children where you might require legal support. We have experience in dealing with a wide range of situations including:

• Emergency proceedings
• Emigration
• Adoptions
• Abductions

If you are concerned about the welfare of your child and think you might need legal advice, get in touch to find out more.