If you're wondering 'what legal rights do step parents have?', we have the answers for you here. Step parents often get bad press, stepping into already made families and having to find their role. Jigsaw relationships can get very complicated with the arrival of additional children or, for example, on the breakdown of a second marriage. It is not surprising that many step parents feel that they have a lot of the responsibility for caring for step children but few, if any, legal rights.  Sometimes it is not until a step parent is challenged that they realise that the law treats step parents differently to biological parents. That challenge can be anything from nursery staff asking if a step parent has the biological parent’s authority to collect a child from nursery or the school nurse needing the biological parent’s agreement to the immunisation of a child. These scenarios are what many step parents face on a daily basis. That can be frustrating especially when one of the biological parents could be ‘off the scene’ leaving the step parent to parent the child. So what rights does a step parent have? Who is classed as a step parent? In this day and age with so many different types of relationship many people are referred to as ‘step parents’ but legally to be considered  a ‘step parent’ you have to be married or have been married to the child’s biological parent. If you are living in a cohabiting relationship with a parent of children you are not classed as a step parent but you may still be able to ask the court to make orders in your favour provided that you are considered a significant person in the child’s life, and the court gives you permission to apply for a court order. Does a step parent automatically have parental responsibility for their step children? We all know that children say ‘you can't do that, you are not my parent’ but in some situations a step parent can acquire parental responsibility for a step child. Parental responsibility is one of those legal concepts and means that an adult (normally the biological parent) has rights and responsibilities for their child, understanding what a Parental Responsibility Agreement is goes a long way to understand your legal rights as a step parents. A step parent can get parental responsibility for a child if: A court makes a child arrangements order saying that the child should live with the step parent or with the step parent and another person, such as one of the biological parents; When a step parent adopts a step child ( this type of adoption is now uncommon); When a parental responsibility agreement is signed by all those who hold parental responsibility for the child. The people with parental responsibility for the child are normally the child’s mother and the child’s biological father providing he has met certain criteria; A court makes a parental responsibility order on the application to court by a step parent. [related_posts] What Is Step Parent ‘Parental Responsibility’? Parental responsibility is about the rights and responsibilities for a child, whether the child is biologically yours or a step child. If a step parent gets parental responsibility for a child they have exactly the same rights and responsibilities towards the child as all the other people who hold parental responsibility. No one person’s parental responsibility is more important than anyone else who has parental responsibility. If there is more than one person with parental responsibility for a child and they can’t agree on what is in a child’s best interests anyone with parental responsibility can make an application to the court to decide the question in dispute by making a specific issue order. How do you get step parent parental responsibility? If a mother agrees to a step father having parental responsibility for a child the easiest way to get parental responsibility is to fill in a parental responsibility agreement. The form records that the step father of the child is acquiring parental responsibility for the child. The stepfather will then share parental responsibility with the child’s mother. If the child’s biological father has parental responsibility he will also need to agree to the step father acquiring parental responsibility for the child.    As parental responsibility is an important legal concept the document has to be a standard agreement form and signatures have to be witnessed at your local court. Paperwork confirming the parents and child’s identity also need to be produced. Do you have to pay child support if you have parental responsibility for your step child? Whether or not you have legal parental responsibility for your step child you may be asked to financially support your step child if you separate. The financial responsibility comes from the fact that you married the child’s parent and doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you have parental responsibility for the child. The child maintenance service usually assesses how much child support should be paid for a child. However there are exceptions to this rule and in the case of step parents only a family court (and not the child maintenance service) can order that a step parent contribute financially towards their step child’s upbringing.    Do step parents have an automatic right to see a child if they separate from the child’s biological parent? A step parent doesn't have an automatic right to continue to see a step child if they separate from the biological parent of the child. Some people think that is wrong but the person may not have been a step parent for very long before the marriage broke down or the child may already have a very large and complex family structure involving contact with biological dad as well as a first step dad and the various sets of grandparents and step grandparents. For a child it can be very difficult to juggle contact with family as well as meet homework deadlines and keep up with sporting commitments and see school friends. If a step parent believes that they are significant to the child and ongoing contact with the child is opposed then the step parent can ask the court for permission to apply for a child arrangements order allowing them to see the child. A court will decide on whether the contact is in the child’s best interests. For legal help with any aspect of children law please Contact Us

Parental responsibility is one of those phrases most parents think is a bit self-evident. After all if you are a parent then you have responsibility for your child. Simple isn’t it? It is only when parents separate or divorce that the vaguely heard of legal concept of parental responsibility can become a bone of contention between parents with them not always fully appreciating what the legal concept of parental responsibility is, whether they already have it and, if not, how to get a parental responsibility agreement. What is parental responsibility? At its simplest, parental responsibility is about the rights and responsibilities for your child. Many parents sail through life without needing to know about the legal concept of parental responsibility, automatically assuming that they have the right to decide on whether their child is enrolled at a particular school and that they can make decisions on behalf of their child such as whether their son or daughter should be immunised or have a haircut. In other families life isn't as simple and they need to know where they stand on parental responsibility. Who has parental responsibility? For many parents there is no need to get a parental responsibility agreement because they already have parental responsibility. Parents who automatically have parental responsibility are: ● The child’s mother; ● The child’s father if he is married to the child’s mother; ● The adoptive parents of an adopted child; ● The child’s father if he is named as the father on the child’s birth certificate (after a certain date depending on where the child was born in the UK); ● If the child’s parents are unmarried the child’s father will have parental responsibility if he registered the child’s birth with the mother (after a certain date depending on where the registration took place in the UK). How do you get parental responsibility? If a mother agrees to a father having parental responsibility for a child the easiest way to get parental responsibility is to fill in a parental responsibility agreement. The form records that the biological father of the child is acquiring parental responsibility for the child. The father will then share parental responsibility with the child’s mother. As parental responsibility is an important legal concept the document has to be a standard agreement form and signatures have to be witnessed at your local court. Paperwork confirming the parents and child’s identity also need to be produced. [related_posts] What if parental responsibility can’t be agreed? If the child's mother and father cannot agree on whether the child’s father should have parental responsibility the father of the child can apply to court for a parental responsibility court order. The court will usually grant an application for a parental responsibility order unless there are unusual circumstances resulting in it not being in the child’s best interests for a parental responsibility order to be made. Do you have to pay child support if you have parental responsibility for your child? Whether or not you have legal parental responsibility for your biological child you are still under a financial obligation to support your child .If you cannot reach an agreement over the amount of child support that should be paid for your child an application can be made to the child maintenance service. What happens if both parents cannot agree on how they should share parental responsibility for their child? If two parents have parental responsibility for a child they share parental responsibility; neither parent has more ‘rights’ than the other. If they cannot reach an agreement over the arrangements for their child, such as: ● Should the child have a medical procedure or immunisation; ● Should the child be baptised or circumcised; ● Should the child attend a religious faith school or a boarding school Either parent can apply to court for a specific issue order for the court to decide on the issue in dispute between the parents. The court will make its decision based on what it thinks is in the best interests of the child. If a father doesn't have parental responsibility for a child by agreement or court order he is still able to apply to court for orders relating to the child, such as child arrangement or specific issue orders. For legal assistance with any aspect of children law please Contact Us.

If the father has parental responsibility for the child, then no, you cannot take them abroad without his consent. Under the Child Abduction Act 1984, it is a criminal offence for a parent to take a child under the age of 16 out of the UK without the appropriate consent. Fail to get permission and you could be jailed for child abduction. We are Cheshire children solicitors If you want to take your child away on holiday or overseas to live and need help getting consent contact us When taking your child abroad goes wrong It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that as you are the mother you don’t need anyone’s permission to take your child overseas on holiday or to live. That’s exactly what happened to one mother in October 2016, when she was jailed by Exeter Crown Court. The mother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, took her daughter to Cambodia against the wishes of the father and in direct contravention of a court order. Before leaving the UK in October 2013, the woman took out £30,000 in loans. Her and her daughter were later expelled from Cambodia after overstaying their visas. Read the report on the BBC website. In sentencing her to 2 years and 6 months in jail, Judge Graham Cottle stated that he did not agree with her defence that she was acting in the best interest of the child. Cottle said that her decision to ignore the court order “tells me you did not have her interests at heart. You had your own completely misguided and selfish interests at heart." The daughter has subsequently been placed in the care of a foster family while her mother serves out her sentence. Who has parental responsibility for a child, and so must be asked before going on holiday? All mothers are automatically given parental responsibility, as do fathers who are: Named on the birth certificate (from 1st December 2003) ; or Who are married to the mother. A father can gain parental responsibility by marrying the mother (before or after the child’s birth) or through an order of the court or by signing a parental responsibility agreement. If the father does not have parental responsibility, you are not legally required to ask his permission before travelling although it is good practice to do so. When can you take your child abroad without the father’s consent? If you have a child arrangement order which states that the child should live with one parent (you), you are free to take them abroad for a maximum of 28 days without needing to gain permission, unless there is a court order to the contrary. You can also take a child abroad on holiday if there is a specific court order in place allowing you to do so. In order to obtain one, you will need to prove to the court that the trip is in the best interest of the child. Go to court prepared with your date of departure, date of return, means of travel and other pertinent details, including background  information on your separation. In my experience, such preparation tends to pay off. Before you even go to court, I’d recommend that you speak to one of our Cheshire children solicitors. They’ll be able to give you an honest opinion of your chances of success, based on years of experience. Remember, the more you tell them about your relationship with the father, the more accurate their advice will be. [related_posts] Problems you could face travelling abroad with your child When travelling abroad without the child’s father with you, it helps to be prepared in case border officials ask questions. While written consent from the father is not required, I would certainly recommend that you get it. Ask the father to write a letter that confirms their agreement with the holiday plan and includes their contact details and specifics about the holiday. You can then present this to the border authorities if asked. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of parents have been stopped at British airports, ports and train stations on suspicion of child abduction, simply because their surname doesn’t match their child’s surname. In the UK, a child’s passport only lists their name, date of birth and place of birth, with no reference to their parents. As a result, we would recommend that you take a copy of the birth, adoption or divorce certificate with you as additional proof of your relationship to your son or daughter.

The short answer is yes you can go to prison for taking your children to live abroad if you don’t have your ex-partner’s agreement or a Court order. The Daily Mail has reported on the case of a UK mother, Indea Ford, who this week has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison, after being extradited from the States, and standing trial in the UK for taking her two daughters to live in Alaska. Mrs Ford is likely to serve nine months in prison in the UK before being allowed to fly back to the States to return to live with her second husband, two daughters and her toddler child born from her relationship with her second husband. Court order to take children to live abroad On first reading the Indea Ford decision to send a mum of three young children to prison seems really harsh, not only on Mrs Ford but on her children.  A read through the Daily Mail article reveals that Mrs Ford asked her ex-husband for permission to take her two daughters to live in the States and when he refused to agree she applied for a family Court order. All would have been well for her had she been successful in her family Court application but she lost. The family judge decided that Mrs Ford and the children had no prior links to the States and that it was better for the children to stay in the UK. The correct legal option would have been to appeal the decision or wait, build up her legal case, and apply to the family Court again. Mrs Ford didn’t do that. Instead she breached the family Court order saying that one of her daughter’s passports had been lost or stolen so she could get a replacement passport and leave the UK with her two children. Prior to her departure the children had been seeing their dad but after the move to the USA contact stopped. The criminal proceedings and extradition have resulted in the children losing both their mum and dad as the girls are currently being looked after by their step father in the States and haven’t seen their birth dad. Criminal proceedings and prison The criminal trial judge who sentenced the mother to prison time made it clear that he was doing so because Mrs Ford had deliberately breached a family Court order refusing her permission to take the children abroad to live. The family Court document said that Mrs Ford would commit a criminal offence if she disobeyed the family Court order and took the children abroad. Despite the Court warning Mrs Ford went on with her plans to take the children to the States, securing a passport for one of her daughters by lying and saying that the original had been lost or stolen when she knew that the family Court had ordered that each parent keep one daughter’s passport for safekeeping. Reporting restrictions have prevented anyone on reporting why Mrs Ford felt so driven to breach the family Court order and take her daughters to the States but the media reports that she thought her highly acrimonious split from her ex-husband was damaging to the children. After Mrs Ford has served her prison sentence she will be able to return to the States to her second husband and three children but what about the long term harm of the criminal Court proceedings and maternal separation on the children? What about the potential for the children to find it harder to repair their relationship with their birth dad because of the criminal Court case against their mum and their mother’s prison time? Last year there were a number of cases where family judges in the UK took the unusual step of sending a parent to prison for contempt of Court. Jail time is imposed because of the parent’s failure to comply with family Court orders made within child abduction proceedings. In the past if a child was taken to a country outside of the European Union or a country that isn’t a signatory to the Hague convention the parent left in the UK often felt frustrated by the legal remedies to enforce UK family Court orders to recover their child from abroad. After a separation or divorce, and particularly if families have connections to more than one country, one parent may take a child abroad, often back to their country of origin, leaving the child abroad and in the care of their extended family. The parent then returns to the UK without the child to pick up their life again. Sometimes a parent doesn’t even realise that if a child is what is called habitually resident in the UK they can't just take their son or daughter abroad to live without the other parent’s agreement or a UK Court order . When the parent returns to the UK they often plead ignorance of the law and say that they have no control over whether their relatives comply with UK family Court orders and return the child to the UK. The Zubaidy family case is an example of a situation where a family Court has been willing to sentence a parent to jail time for their part in parental child abduction. Mr Zubaidy took his 3 children into Libya, through Tunisia, leaving the children with relatives in Libya. He then returned to the UK and whilst he eventually returned his son said that he couldn’t sort out the return of his 2 daughters. The family Court took a very robust approach and ordered Mr Zubaidy to provide addresses and information to help recover and return the girls to the UK. Mr Zubaidy didn’t obey a number of family Court orders, and to the mother’s frustration and distress, her daughters remain with paternal relatives in Libya. Contempt of Court proceedings were started against the children’s father and the Court was able to conclude that Mr Zubaidy had flouted family Court orders and in August 2017 sentenced him to 12 months imprisonment. When family judges have made robust orders for imprisonment this has resulted in family members abroad cooperating with the UK Court orders and returning children. For any parent caught up in trying to recover their children from abroad getting the other parent imprisoned is the very last resort but can hold the key to the eventual return of their son or daughter. [related_posts] Applying to Court for permission to take children abroad to live The case of Mrs Ford shows just how important it is to not only comply with family Court orders but to do all you can to get it right in the first case. How much easier it would have been for the children if Mrs Ford had been able to persuade the family judge to give her permission to take the children to the States. As a children lawyer , specialising in child abduction and complex children Court cases , I sometimes find that parents question the need for detailed preparation work as they assume they’ll get the Court permission they want without having to detail the background to their separation or research their plans to live abroad. I know just how devastating it can be for a parent to be told ‘’no ‘’ by a Court and preparation is the best chance of getting the order you want. The best advice is to: • Chose a specialist children lawyer who can give you an honest opinion on your likely chances of a successful Court application and can tell you how much information and preparation will be required to maximise the chances of success; • Work with your lawyer – if they tell you that they need information about your relationship it is not salaciousness it is because they need it to help you; • Research where you want to move to – you should look at houses , jobs , health services , schools and of course how contact would work in relation to your proposals and transport times and costs; • Consider the timing of any Court application – sometimes an application should be delayed or in other family circumstances it needs to be pushed through, for example so a child will start senior school in the new country rather than join a new school in a new country mid-term; • If you don’t get the Court decision you want take more legal advice before taking your children abroad. Contact us now for legal help when taking children abroad

Children seem to be getting older younger. I am sure that I am not the only Cheshire children law solicitor who thinks that children in the 21st century are catapulted into adulthood at far too early an age but at what age will the court listen to a child? As a children law solicitor I am often asked if a judge will speak to a child and at what age a child’s views will take precedence over a parent’s wishes. I am sometimes tempted to answer with what I call the Adrian Mole answer, ’age thirteen and three quarters’, but of course no question in family and children law has such a precise answer. We are Cheshire children law solicitors If you can't reach agreement over the child custody and contact arrangements for your child and need representation in custody or contact proceedings contact us for legal help. Does a Court take a child’s wishes into account? When a court is making a decision about a child then the child’s welfare is the court’s paramount consideration.  The court considers a check list of factors when making orders relating to a child: The ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned, in light of his or her age and understanding; The child’s physical, emotional and educational needs; The likely effect on the child of any change in his/her circumstances; The child’s age, sex, background and any characteristics the court considers relevant; Any harm which the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering; How capable each of the parents and any other person in relation to whom the court considers the question to be relevant is of meeting the child’s needs; The range of powers available to the Court.   That means a child’s wishes is just one of a number of factors that a judge takes into account when deciding what is best for a child. However it is correct to say that if a child is older and has strongly expressed views then it is usual for those views to be given more weight than other welfare factors, assuming of course that the child’s stated wishes won’t put them at risk.   How are a child’s wishes ascertained by a Court? Judges often find that one parent will say that ’Johnny doesn’t want to see his other parent‘whilst the other parent will report that little Johnny is desperate to spend more time with him or her.  That puts the court in a quandary.  Many parents expect a judge to resolve the dilemma by seeing their child and asking the child what they want. Judges only see children in exceptional circumstances. That isn’t because judges don’t listen to children but because they don’t think court rooms are the best place for children. Instead a judge may order a report by an officer from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). [related_posts] What is a CAFCASS report? A CAFCASS report is prepared on the order of a family court judge and is carried out by a family court advisor. The advisor is independent of the court, social services or health and education authorities. The family court advisor can either be asked to prepare a report limited to the child’s wishes and feelings or to report more widely on the child’s needs and best interests. When assessing a child’s wishes and feelings the advisor may ask to observe a contact visit between parent and child as well as speaking to the child. That’s because although a child may say that they don’t want to see a parent their actions and expressions during an observed contact visit can reveal that they have a very close relationship with their parent and their ’expressed’ wishes are really just reflecting the views of the other parent towards contact. A CAFCASS report is therefore highly influential to the judge, whatever the child’s age.   How is the child’s age and understanding measured? You would think that a child’s age would be easy to measure and you’d be right but there again no two ten year olds are the same. Cheshire children law solicitors know that you can get some very bright and articulate children at ten or late developers who struggle to express themselves in anything other than grunts or a shake of the head, whilst avoiding all adult eye contact.   If a CAFCASS report is ordered by a judge, the family court advisor should look at and assess both the child’s age and their level understanding of the application before the court. Is the child, for example, saying that they don’t want to see a parent because they know that contact causes friction and trouble at home or is it a genuinely held view? Alternatively is a child keen to move to the USA with one parent because they want to go to Disneyland but they don’t have any real appreciation of what living and going to school in the States and not seeing their other parent each week will really be like? That is why children’s voices need to be heard but also measured – after all do parents listen when a child expresses the view that they don’t want to return to school after the summer holiday break? There may be sympathy to the child’s stated views but inevitably parents will do what’s in their child’s best interests. If you can't reach agreement over the child custody and contact arrangements for your child and need representation in custody or contact proceedings contact us for legal help. Appointments are available online or in person at Holmes Chapel, Cheshire and Whitefield, Manchester.

It is not uncommon for one parent to allege that the other parent has a drug or alcohol issue when a couple split up. Why? There can be a whole variety of reasons and in this blog we look at allegations of drug or alcohol abuse and testing for substance abuse in children court proceedings. We are Cheshire Children Solicitors If you need help with sorting out child custody and contact or are concerned about substance abuse allegations in children court proceedings and need advice on a child arrangements order then contact Holmes Chapel based Evolve Family Law, contact us online. Substance abuse allegations in children proceedings There are many reasons why substance abuse allegations can be made after a separation or divorce. Sometimes the drug or alcohol consumption is mentioned in passing as ‘no big deal’ with an acknowledgement that the parent is great with the kids. In other families there is a genuine concern for the children as the alcohol or drug consumption has gone beyond recreational use and was the reason behind the relationship breakdown. Worryingly, sometimes allegations are made that are untrue as a means to stop contact or the alcohol or drug use is blown out of all proportion to the reality as a justification to stop the children seeing the other parent.   If you are worried about your children because of a parent’s substance abuse or if you are facing accusations of drug or alcohol abuse it is vital that you get early legal advice from children law solicitors so that you know what your best options are.   What is parental substance misuse? Parental substance misuse is, for clear reasons, taken very seriously and if you are unsure what the court considers as substance misuse, read one of our recent blogs what is parental substance misuse.   The issue of drug and alcohol testing in divorce and children cases has hit the headlines with reports in the Daily Mail that James Stunt allegedly provided false samples for drug testing during his divorce from Petra Ecclestone.    If one parent uses drugs or alcohol it can have an impact on their ability to look after their children or impact on how much time they should spend with the children. Many parents, despite the trauma of a split, are able to sort out child care and contact arrangements with the help of a Cheshire children law solicitor, mediator or therapist, working around the alcohol or drug issues.   If a mum of teenage boys knows her boys want to see their dad she can minimise the risks posed by her ex and his alcohol issues by insisting that the children aren’t driven in a car by their father and that a relative stays in dad’s house when the boys stay over. In a different scenario, with a toddler, the risks and issues associated with substance misuse may be very different.   Where drug or alcohol abuse is denied or parents can’t reach agreement on the impact, if any, the drug / alcohol use should have on the child care arrangements the parents may have to ask the court to decide how much time the children should spend with each parent and under what conditions.   Children court applications and alcohol and drug testing A parent can ask the court to order that drug or alcohol testing is undertaken by the other parent before contact with a child takes place.  The parent who is alleged to have a drug or alcohol issue can refuse to be tested and the court can’t force him or her to undergo a test. Obviously questions may be asked about the reason for the refusal and sometimes inferences can be drawn.   The court is normally robust in looking behind the reasons why testing is being sought. Background information is needed, for example if a parent alleges that the alcohol misuse by the other parent is longstanding but before the split up both parents shared the care of the children. The question could be raised about why the alcohol or drug use is now a welfare concern for the children. If only occasional drug use is alleged a court may want to question if the usage impacts on the children before ordering tests, for example if a parent has always limited recreational drug usage to times that the children aren’t being looked after by them.   Court approach to drug and alcohol testing The court in children law proceedings is focused on looking at what is in the best interests of a child and therefore the court is only concerned with allegations of drug or alcohol use if they impact on the parent’s ability to look after or spend time with the children.   If there are serious concerns about a child’s welfare, either before or after drug or alcohol testing, the court can ask CAFCASS or Social Services to prepare a report. The court can also order expert reports such as psychological assessments or can make referrals for parents to attend parenting courses. There are lots of reasons why these referrals are made; sometimes to help family dynamics where there is a parent with an alcohol or drug issues or, in other extremes, where false allegations of drug usage have been made and the family need help with parental alienation issues.   How are drug tests undertaken in children court cases? If a court orders testing and a parent agrees to the testing then it can take a variety of forms: hair, blood, urine. If you read the Daily Mail article you might think it is easy for parents to falsify reports but if a test is arranged privately through Cheshire children law solicitors or the court then samples are obtained in the presence of a medical professional and after formal identification of the person providing the sample. [related_posts] What to do next? If any parent finds that they are in a dilemma about whether their children should see their other parent as a result of concerns about drug or alcohol use then the important thing is to speak to a Cheshire children law solicitor to discuss the issues and explore the options for contact to take place in a safe environment.   If you are a parent facing a battle to see your children because of allegations of alcohol or drug use it is equally important to get legal advice from a children law solicitor. That is because the longer you don’t see the children for then the tougher it can become to get to see them again and resolve the family dynamics that led to the substance abuse allegations.   Whether you are a parent worried about your ex’s drug use or a parent desperate to see the children the important thing to remember is that the court and professionals approach is to do what is in the children’s best interests, and that can include contact if it is best for a child to maintain a relationship with both parents in a safe environment.

Parental substance misuse is an extremely serious issue and it is not uncommon for one parent to allege that the other parent has a drug or alcohol issue when a couple splits up. Why? Well sometimes the parental substance misuse, be it drugs or alcohol, is mentioned in passing as ‘no big deal’ with an acknowledgement that the parent is great with the kids. In other families, there is a genuine concern for the children as the parental substance misuse has gone beyond recreational use and was the reason behind the relationship breakdown. Finally, sometimes allegations are made that are untrue as a means to stop contact or the alcohol or drug use is blown out of all proportion to the reality as a justification to stop the children seeing the other parent. The issue of drug and alcohol testing in divorce and children cases has hit the headlines with reports in the Daily Mail that James Stunt allegedly provided false samples for drug testing during his divorce from Petra Ecclestone in an attempt to disprove accusations of parental substance misuse. If one parent uses drugs or alcohol it can have an impact on their ability to look after their children or impact on how much time they should spend with the children. Many parents, despite the trauma of a split, are able to sort out child care and contact arrangements with the help of a solicitor, mediator or therapist, working around the parental substance misuse. As an example of parental substance misuse, if a mum of teenage boys knows her boys want to see their dad, she can minimise the risks posed by her ex and his alcohol issues by insisting that the children aren’t driven in a car by their father and that a relative stays in Dad’s house when the boys stay over. In a different scenario with a toddler, the risks and issues may be very different. Where drug or alcohol abuse is denied or parents can't reach agreement on the impact, if any, the drug / alcohol use should have on the child care arrangements the parents may have to ask the Court to decide how much time the children should spend with each parent and under what conditions. [related_posts] Many parents are wary about raising parental substance abuse allegations in Court proceedings or alternatively parents are worried that allegations of alcohol or drug usage will automatically be believed and will result in them losing all contact with their child. That is why it is important to get early professional advice on your options. As an example the Court may question why a parent allowed lots of unsupervised contact if there are very serious allegations of parental substance abuse or why, in a different scenario, a parent hasn’t seen their child for months, making the parent child relationship harder to repair. Sometimes it pays to take things slow and at other times it is vital that a parent pushes for contact notwithstanding the allegations of parental substance misuse. For legal help with children law and child care arrangements where there are allegations of drug or alcohol misuse please contact us.  

Good news for grandparents – children law reform proposed – to give grandparents a right to apply to Court to see their grandchild. As a children lawyer I smile when I see a grandparent out with a grandchild. Why? I’m often asked for advice on grandparents ‘rights’ and it is therefore great to see children enjoying time with grandparents. Sadly grandparent contact can stop if: There is a family fallout with a son or daughter-in-law; Parents separate and the parent who is looking after the children thinks that a grandparent took sides during the divorce or wants to exert control; The death of a child and the remarriage of a son or daughter in law; Family moving away or going to live abroad. All too often when families split up grandparents can be forgotten, despite providing support such as: Continuity and stability in a grandchild’s changing post-divorce world; Childcare if both parents have to go back to work after a marriage breakdown; Family historian; A fun relative and role model. The current grandparent and child law Under current children law, grandparents don’t have an automatic right to apply to Court to see their grandchildren. Grandparents have to undergo a two stage process: Ask the Court for permission to be able to apply for a Court Child Arrangements Order. If they get permission then apply for an order setting out the time a grandchild should spend with their grandparents. The Order can provide for regular contact or just cover a one off special holiday or the grandchild being able to come to an 80th birthday party or golden wedding celebration. When a grandparent asks for Court permission to apply for a Child Arrangements Order the Court considers: The connection with the child (how close are the grandparents to the grandchild); The nature of the application for contact; Whether the application might be potentially harmful to the child's well-being in any way. Although it is usual for a Court to give permission for a grandparent to apply for a Child Arrangements Order the two stage Court process can be off putting to a grandparent desperate to see their grandchild. Once permission to apply for the Court order is granted the Court then has to decide whether contact is in the child’s best interests. [related_posts] The proposed grandparent reform According to press reports the proposed change to the children law is to do away with the need for grandparents and other close family to have to ask the Court for permission to apply for a Court order to see their grandchild. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5697961/Grandparents-right-grandchildren-parents-split-new-law.html If the law is changed then grandparents will be treated in exactly the same way as a parent asking for a Court order to see their child. The reform has long been advocated by people’s campaigner and grandmother, Esther Rantzen. If the law is reformed it will make it easier for grandparents to see their grandchildren and grandparents will have the same ‘’rights’’ as parents to apply to stay in touch with their loved ones. For help with any aspect of children law please contact us