Protecting your Child

This referred to by the Court as the Welfare Principle. The presumption of the court is that it is the child’s right to have contact with both parents, however, the parents have no presumed right of contact with their children. This means that as much as possible, the views of the children are paramount and the older the children in question are, the more seriously their views and opinions are taken in deciding who cares for them and who they are to live with.

The court will assess evidence from both parents as well as any local authority or social workers involved with the children before making any decision regarding living arrangements or any necessary orders.

The orders can range from protective orders such as non-molestation orders, to child arrangement orders which govern the contact arrangements between the children and the parents or guardians.

The Court will have the final say on any matters which are not settled outside of Court and this means the Court has the power to order that any children be cared for either with shared contact with both parents, live with one parent with contact with the other parent, or even in certain cases the Court has the power to place the care of the children into the hands of the local authority and initiate care proceedings.

If the Local Authority initiate care proceedings in relation to your child then we would not be able to assist you and you would be entitled to receive Legal Aid, however if this did occur then we would be able to signpost you in the direction of other local firms who offer assistance in care proceedings. In some circumstances we can assist other family members involved in care proceedings so please do contact us if you would like to discuss this as an option.

Living and contact arrangements are not the only decisions to be made regarding children. It can often be necessary for decisions to be made regarding where a child will go to school and any clubs or trips, consent to medical treatment or any religious practices. We can help you with this, including making appropriate applications to court if this is necessary.

Our experienced team is on hand to support you through any proceedings relating to your children to help ensure the best possible outcome for you and the children. Our team can help you through any necessary applications that could be made to help protect your children from any domestic abuse or exposure to any other dangerous issues.