What Happens After A Breach Of A Child Arrangements Order?
When in place, child arrangements orders can provide much-needed clarity over child contact. However, despite the presence of these legally binding agreements, situations can and do arise where one parent fails to follow the order, for example, by refusing to allow contact or making decisions that go against the agreement. This can be classed as a breach of child arrangements order and may result in legal consequences.
When a breach occurs, it is important to know what options are available to resolve the situation correctly. Child arrangements orders (like many other orders in the context of family law proceedings) often contain what is known as a ‘penal notice’. This is a formal warning that the order must be complied with. If not, the party in breach may be imprisoned, ordered to pay a fine, have their assets seized, or face other consequences.
How Is A Breach Of Child Arrangements Order Determined?
If one party is in breach of the child arrangements order, the other may apply for it to be enforced. In deciding whether there should be consequences for a party in breach, the court will apply a two-fold test:
- Is there a breach?
- Did the party in breach have reasonable cause for breaching the order?
The first limb of this test is usually quite simple to make out. It could be that there have been a series of minor breaches, or one major breach of the order.
The second limb is more subjective, and for the court to determine whether there is a reasonable excuse for the breach, it will usually require a hearing. If the court finds that there is no good reason for the breach, it can enforce the order, and the breaching party may face repercussions.
Consequences Of A Breach
Any repercussions will depend on the severity of the breach of child arrangements order. To assess this, the court will consider a number of factors, including the number of orders breached, how often the breach occurred, and the general compliance with the order.
Whilst a breach is technically punishable by imprisonment, this only occurs in extreme cases. In the recent case of AA (Mother) v XX (Father), a father was sentenced to six months in prison for breaching a number of court orders, which required him to return his daughter to the UK from Iran. The breaches were found to have been deliberate and persistent, and the court decided that the only way to secure the child’s return to the UK (in accordance with the court orders) was a custodial sentence. More often than not, the court will simply reconsider the child arrangements and the appropriate way forward rather than imposing a serious punishment for breach.
Expert Legal Advice
It is not always necessary to enforce an order through the courts and there may be a number of options available to ensure that an order is complied with. If you are concerned about a possible breach of a child arrangements (or other family) order, seeking suitable legal advice is crucial.
At Kitson Boyce, our expert Family lawyers in Devon have years of experience in assisting with matters related to child arrangements orders and would be happy to advise you on your next steps if you suspect a breach. You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] or calling 01803 202020.
