Children

A Child Arrangements Order is a decision of the court which decides the arrangements for a child’s care, specifically who the child will live with and time they will spend with each parent.

Custody is no longer a term used by the family courts, The court instead talks about the arrangements for the children, to avoid using language which infers ownership or control.

The court will make its decision about a child’s arrangements based on the best interests of the child. In reaching a decision, the court will take into account the child’s wishes (depending on their age), their needs, any risks to the child, and the capacity of each parent to provide for the child.

In England and Wales, a child aged 16 has the legal right to decide where they want to live. This is unless there is a court order stating that the child must live with one parent until they reach 17 or 18. The court will usually seek to take into account the wishes and feelings of children over the age of 10 when making decisions about where they will live. However, it does depend upon the child’s maturity and whether the views they express have been influenced by either parent.

A Child Arrangements Order (CAO) is a decision of the court which determines the arrangements for a child, specifically who the child will live with and the time they will spend with both parents

The two main types of arrangement that may be made under a CAO are:
Lives with Order – this is where one parent lives with a child and has main day-to-day care of that child.
Shared Lives With order – this is where a child lives with both parents across their separate homes, though not necessarily on a 50:50 basis.

The court may make different arrangements if it considers this to be in the best interests of the child.

A Child Arrangements Order (CAO) will usually last until the child turns 16, or 18 if it only concerns where a child will live. If both parents are in agreement, arrangements can be changed between them. It is important that any changes are recorded and signed by both parties. However, a CAO may also be varied by making an application to the court. This is particularly useful where the parents are unable to agree to changes.

Before issuing an application for a Child Arrangements Order (“CAO”) parents should ideally try to reach agreement as to where the child will live through a mediator. A mediator will encourage the parties to communicate effectively and reach an amicable resolution through mediation rather than through timely, costly and sometimes hostile litigation.

If mediation is unsuccessful or not appropriate to the circumstances of the case, the parties may apply for a CAO. The parties will usually be expected to have attended a meeting about mediation before applying for a CAO.

Where a CAO is in place, then either parentmay apply to the court for a variation in the future if circumstances change meaning the Order should be reconsidered.

Parents should always put the needs of their children first when making contact arrangements. Generally, it is best for a child to spend time with both parents, so this should be encouraged where appropriate. Parents should also consider things like their capacity and availability to care for the child, the impact any changes will have on the child, and the location of the child’s school. Where possible, it is usually best to make arrangements by agreement rather than by seeking a court order. If they can reach an agreement themselves, there is no need for it to be formalised in a court order.

Generally a parent should not stop someone from seeing their child, unless this is in accordance with a court order. Where it is in the best interests of the child, the court will try to ensure both parents have contact with the child. However, a court may issue an order preventing child contact if there are issues which could risk the child’s wellbeing, such as domestic abuse, criminal activity or substance abuse.

‘Sole custody’ is a term that is no longer used by the family courts. The modern-day term is a Lives With Order. This Order describes a situation where one parent lives with a child and has main day-to-day care of that child. This information is set out in what is now known as a Child Arrangements Order. As the court usually seeks to maintain the involvement of both parents in a child’s life, a Lives With Order just in favour of one parent would only arise in very limited circumstances where this is in the best interests of the child. Where the parents share the child’s care, then a Shared Lives With Order

Child maintenance is a regular payment made by the paying parent to the receiving parent of a child following divorce or separation. It can also be payable even if the parents have never been in a relationship. The maintenance payments cover the child’s living costs when the care of the child is not shared equally. The person paying child maintenance, the “paying parent”, is the person who spends less time with the child. The receiving parent is the person who spends more time with the child.

The recipient of child maintenance payments is the person who has with whom the child spends more than 50% of their time. This could be a parent, grandparent or guardian. The person paying child maintenance, is the parent who who spends less time with the child.

Child maintenance, or child maintenance payments are calculated by the Child Maintenance Service using a six step process. This calculation takes various factors into account with the aim of arriving at a fair figure for weekly payments. Alternatively, child maintenance payments may be agreed privately between parents.

A child maintenance agreement must be in place if the child is under 16, or under 20 and still in full time education. Child maintenance payments may be agreed privately between parents, or by the Child Maintenance service (CMS). The CMS calculates weekly child maintenance payments using a six step process, which takes into account various factors with the aim of arriving at a fair figure.

Shared custody is not a term that is used by the family courts. The modern-day term is a Shared Lives With Order. is an order made by the court, stating that the child is to live with both parents (in the English and Welsh courts, this will be set out in a Child Arrangements Order). Shared Lives With Orders do not necessarily mean that the child will spend exactly equal amounts of time with each parent. It may also be the case that one parent is still responsible for making child maintenance payments to the other parent.