When parents separate, deciding on child arrangements can be one of the most challenging aspects of the process. Disputes over children’s care and contact can lead to significant emotional strain, affecting both parents and children. In cases where families struggle to reach agreements, disputes can have a detrimental impact on children’s well-being and their relationships with parents and extended family.
We provide pragmatic, child-focused legal advice tailored to your unique situation. Our goal is to help families reach agreements through negotiation, mediation, or other non-court alternatives. However, when necessary, we are fully prepared to act strategically and decisively through the court process to ensure the best outcome for your child.
If you’re facing challenges around child arrangements, relocation, or contact issues, please call us on 0203 924 8462 or fill in our contact form. Our experienced solicitors provide clear, practical advice with your child’s welfare at the heart of everything we do.
We can assist wherever you are based.
We advise and represent clients in all areas of children law, including:
Parenting Together Plan: We assist in creating and formalising arrangements between parents to reduce future conflict.
Child Arrangements: We offer guidance on disputes about where a child should live, shared care, and time spent with each parent following separation. This can also include
Arrangements For Special Days and Holidays: We assist clients in arrangements for special days such as Christmas, Easter, religious festivals, or other significant cultural or family events.
Arrangements and Information Sharing for Holidays: We assist clients in negotiating holiday arrangements, including sharing information regarding travel and special occasions.
Decision-Making in Relation to Schooling, Education, and Health: We represent clients in disputes over educational decisions, medical care, and health-related issues for grandchildren.
Third-Party Care: We help clients navigate issues related to third-party care arrangements for grandchildren.
Managing Communication Between Parents: We assist in facilitating clear communication between parents and grandparents, ensuring the child’s best interests are maintained.
Handovers: We offer support in managing child handovers between parents or other guardians.
Reviewing Arrangements: We help clients review and amend existing arrangements to ensure the continued welfare of the child.
Short-Term Arrangements (Including Birdnesting): We assist clients in temporary living arrangements, such as ‘birdnesting’ or ‘nesting,’ where the children remain in the family home while parents take turns living there.
Cross-border Contact: We advise on international contact arrangements where one parent lives abroad.
Parental Responsibility Issues: We help resolve disputes regarding education/schooling, health, religion upbringing, or change of name.
Relocation Applications: We represent clients in domestic and international relocation cases, including applications for permission to remove a child from the jurisdiction. We have represented both the parent wishing to relocate and the parent opposing the application.
Allegations of Alienating Behaviours: We offer legal representation for parents dealing with allegations of alienating behaviour by one parent.
Domestic Abuse and Substance Misuse: We provide expert support in cases involving domestic abuse, narcissism, sexual misconduct, or drug and alcohol misuse.
Emergency Applications: We handle urgent applications and prohibited steps orders to protect children’s welfare.
Expert Evidence: We use expert evidence, including independent social workers, drug and alcohol testing, psychological assessments, parenting assessments, or other experts to support your case.
High-Conflict Cases: We represent clients in contentious proceedings where high levels of conflict require careful management and strategic representation.
Fact-Finding Hearings: We represent clients in proceedings where the court must determine disputed allegations through a detailed examination of evidence.
Activity Directions: We arrange parenting programmes, counselling, and classes. As well as the use of parenting apps such as ‘Our Family Wizard’ to assist in establishing, maintaining or improving involvement in a child’s life or addressing violent behaviour.
Whether you are formalising existing agreements through a Parenting Plan or addressing complex child arrangements, we are here to guide you. We focus on resolving disputes through negotiation, mediation, or other non-court dispute resolution methods. When court proceedings are necessary, we work closely with you to determine the best course of action.
The law on a parent relocating with a child either within or outside England and Wales is highly complex. These cases are often emotionally charged and finely balanced. Therefore, thorough preparation is essential.
Whether you are a parent seeking to relocate or opposing the move, it is crucial to consider practical factors such as living arrangements, schooling, travel, ongoing contact, and the motivations of each parent. The wishes and feelings of the children, depending on their age, views, and ascertainable wishes, will also be considered.
Relocation cases are sensitive, they require careful planning and legal expertise. We have extensive experience advising and acting for clients in relocation cases, including:
Internal Relocation:
Successfully represented parents seeking to change a child’s school and relocate within England and Wales, including moves from London to the north of England, London to Wales, and various cross-country relocations.
International Relocation:
Successfully acted for mothers applying to relocate outside the jurisdiction (either to return home or ‘new life’ applications), with cases involving Cyprus, South Africa, Australia, the USA, New Zealand, Portugal, and Estonia.
Successfully acting for a father in proceedings where he had relocated, with permission of the mother, to Portugal who then sought to renege her agreement.
Successfully acting for fathers opposing applications for leave to remove including to New Zealand, Portugal and Northern Ireland.
In cases where parents cannot agree on grandparent access, the law does not grant grandparents an automatic right to see their grandchildren. To make an application for contact, grandparents typically need permission from the court, unless specific circumstances apply.
We assist grandparents through the process, whether inside or outside court proceedings. Our expertise covers cases such as:
Grandparents Seeking Contact Orders: We support grandparents seeking legal orders to spend time with their grandchildren.
A Grandmother Seeking a ‘Lives With’ Order: We successfully represented a grandmother seeking a ‘lives with’ order for her granddaughter following the death of her mother. The application was opposed by the father.
Opposing Harmful Applications: We have helped a mother oppose a contact application made by her child’s maternal grandfather, citing historical domestic abuse as harmful to the child.
A Parenting Together Plan is a written agreement between parents that outlines expectations and arrangements following separation. It is not a court order but a statement of intent. While not legally binding, it can significantly reduce conflict and improve cooperation between parents. Parenting plans are family specific and can be as flexible or as detailed as you need them to be in your circumstances. We assist clients in agreeing and drafting parenting plans, or work with couples in mediation.
Parenting Plans can cover various aspects of child care, including:
Living Arrangements: Where the child lives and how time is shared between parents.
Contact During Holidays and Special Occasions: Including arrangements for school holidays, religious events, and family occasions.
Education and Healthcare: Decisions on schooling, healthcare, and religious upbringing.
Communication Between Parents: Establishing clear communication channels between parents to ensure the child’s needs are met and to prevent misunderstandings.
Emergency Contacts and Third-Party Care: Arrangements for emergency situations and third-party care options.
We can help you draft or finalise a Parenting Together Plan, either independently or as part of mediation.
Whether you’re seeking to agree arrangements, respond to an urgent application, resolve a dispute through the courts, or explore solutions through mediation or negotiation, we’re here to help.
We can often offer this service on an agreed fixed fee, depending on the circumstances of your case, and this will be discussed at the outset of your matter.
Speak to one of our experienced solicitors today for confidential, child-focused advice tailored to your situation.
