Need a respectful, understanding family lawyer near you? Contact our experts today for guidance on child arrangement orders, parental disputes, and other family law matters.
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Child Law: Protecting your child’s future
Family law matters regarding your children can be emotionally challenging and legally complex at the best of times. Whether you're facing parental disputes, a child abduction case, or another family issue, it's essential to have experienced legal representation to protect your rights and, most importantly, the well-being of your children.
At SB Lawyers, our dedicated team of family law solicitors is committed to providing compassionate and expert legal advice. We understand the unique challenges families face and strive to find solutions that are in the best interests of all parties involved.
Child Arrangement Orders: Parental Responsibility
A Child Arrangement Order is a legal document that outlines where a child will live, how much time they will spend with each parent, and other important details about their upbringing.
Child Arrangement Orders are often necessary when parents separate or divorce and cannot agree on child arrangements. They can also be used in cases involving unmarried parents or extended family members.
These orders typically include information on:
- Determining where your child will live.
- Outlining how often the child will spend time with each parent, including overnight stays, weekends, and holidays.
- Decisions about the child’s education, health, and welfare.
Child Maintenance
Child maintenance is a legal obligation to provide financial support for a child. It's designed to ensure that children have the financial resources they need, regardless of their parents' living arrangements.
It is typically calculated based on the non-resident parent's income and the number of children. The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is a government agency that can help calculate and enforce child maintenance payments.
Child maintenance payments can be made directly to the resident parent or through the Child Maintenance Service. Payments can be made weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.
If a non-resident parent fails to pay child maintenance, the Child Maintenance Service can take enforcement action, which may include:
- Taking money directly from their wages.
- Taking money directly from their benefits.
- Selling their goods.
Child Abduction
Child abduction is a serious crime that can have devastating consequences for both the child and the family. If you're concerned about the risk of child abduction, or if your child has been abducted, it's important to seek legal advice as soon as possible.
What to do if your child is abducted:
- Report the abduction to your local police force.
- Contact CARI (Child Abduction and Recovery International), an international organisation that helps locate missing children.
- Consult and instruct a family law solicitor to understand your legal rights and options.
DNA Test
DNA testing can provide definitive answers to questions about parentage. In cases of child custody, visitation, and child support, DNA testing can help establish paternity and determine the appropriate arrangements.
DNA testing can be crucial in various family law matters, including:
- Determining the biological father of a child.
- Establishing a biological relationship between siblings.
- Confirming a grandparent-grandchild relationship.
We can help with:
- The legal implications of DNA testing. For example, child maintenance obligations or inheritance rights.
- Recommending reputable DNA testing providers.
- Assisting in obtaining court orders for DNA testing.
- The legal significance of DNA test results. For example, challenging a will or for immigration purposes.
Contact disputes
When parents separate, you need to establish clear and fair contact arrangements for the child. Our family law solicitors can help you:
- You and the other parent agree on how often the child will spend time with each parent.
- Enforce contact orders if the other parent is not complying with the court order.
- You modify the existing child arrangement order.
Changing a child’s name
- We can explain the specific legal procedures involved in changing a child's name.
- We can help you obtain the consent of all relevant parties, including the other parent.
- We can assist with updating official documents, such as passports and birth certificates.
SB Lawyers Accredited by the Law Society
The Law Society's Family and Child Law Accreditation is a recognised quality standard for family and child law solicitors. To be awarded you must apply each year and maintain strict adherence to the Law Society Scheme's criteria.
As a Family Law client of SB Lawyers you'll benefit from knowing we:
- have 1,000 hours of chargeable time experience in litigation in the last 3 years;
- have 350 hours of chargeable family law experience in the last 5 years;
- the ability to work directly with children, explore their competence and understand their wishes and feelings;
- a thorough awareness of ethical issues that can arise in children cases; &
- an up-to-date knowledge of guidance, legislation, case law and practice developments.
How SB Lawyers can help you
Don’t go through this alone. Contact us for compassionate and expert legal advice on family law. We’ll always put your child’s best interest first.
- Resolution-accredited specialists in child law.
- Dispute resolution and mediation services.
- Child Arrangement Orders.
Moving out of the country with your child?
If you're planning to move abroad with your child, you need to consider the legal implications, especially if the other parent lives in the UK.
You might need to obtain the necessary legal permissions and ensure that the move won't negatively impact your child's relationship with the other parent.
- If you have a Child Arrangement Order in place, you'll need to seek permission from the court to relocate with your child.
- If you're the sole legal guardian, you may need to obtain consent from the other parent.
- Taking a child out of the country without the other parent's consent can be considered child abduction, which is a serious criminal offence.
029 2046 1480help@sblawyers.co.uk
SB Lawyers secured a Non-Molestation Order and limited contact for a mother and her two children facing years of domestic abuse and threatening behaviour. This legal action provided crucial protection and stability for the family.
SB Lawyers successfully represented a father who had been denied contact with his son due to unfounded allegations. By gathering and presenting evidence, we secured a court order for the reintroduction of contact and unsupervised access.
After previously losing custody of her first child, a mother worked with SB Lawyers to demonstrate her changed circumstances and readiness to parent her new-born. SB Lawyers successfully supported her through the assessment process, resulting in the mother being able to take her baby home.
Linda Parish
Head of Family Law
Linda is an experienced solicitor specialising in all aspects of family law and holds the Law Society’s accreditation in Family Law and is a Resolutions Specialist in child issues and domestic abuse. Since she qualified in 1981, Linda has helped clients with local authority involvement from Child Protection Conferences, advising and representing parents through the PLO process and also specialising in Court Care Proceedings. Linda can represent parents, grandparents and other adults in cases involving children.
Get in contact today with Linda to discuss your claim and he will provide a straightforward approach to achieving your goal alongside a competitive quote with no obligation.
