subject: Family Law: Child Custody In The Uk [print this page] Child Care Law in the United Kingdom covers a variety of disputes and issues relating to the wellbeing and care of children. Some of these issues may fall under the jurisdiction of public law, for example any matters that involve actions by the social services, while other issues may fall under private law. Private law cases often involve disputes between family members over aspects of a childs life, such as who they live with or where they go to school. Disputes over children will often arise during divorce proceedings and in many cases they will involve where the child lives. The courts will often try to solve the disagreement fairly and through taking into account the best interests of the child.
When most people think about which parent children live with after a divorce, they will usually think of the terms custody and access. The most common types of custody are sole custody, where one parent has physical and legal custody of a child, and joint custody where both parents have legal and/or physical custody. There are other forms of custody, as every family situation is different. Alternating custody is where a child lives with one parent for a long period of time and then the other parent for the same amount of time. While the child is living with a parent, the parent has sole authority. In the United States, a type of custody called birds nest custody has become more popular. This is where the child stays living in the same residence and the parents alternate living there with them. The idea behind this is to reduce the amount of stress and upheaval placed on the child.
The use of custody as a legal term is still often used by many people, especially in the United States. However, in the United Kingdom, the terms custody and access have fallen out of legal use. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has brought about the use of residence in place of custody and the term contact instead of the term access. As a result there are now three main areas relating to how children are cared for and who they live with. These areas are parental responsibility, residence and contact.
Parental responsibility determines who should be consulted about important decisions in the organisation of a childs life. This means that if a mother, a father and a step-parent all have parental responsibility they all should have a voice in settling important issues. Major decisions may include what surname the child uses or where they go to school. The natural mother of a child automatically has parental responsibility of their child. A father will have automatic parental responsibility if they were married to the mother at the time of the birth. If a child was born after the 1st December 2003 and the father is named on the birth certificate, they will have automatic parental responsibility. If a father does not have parental responsibility or a step parent or grandparent wishes to obtain it, they can do so by agreement or through a court order.
Residence, as the name suggests, determines where a child will live. When a residence order is made in a particular parents favour, the child will live with them and they will gain parental responsibility if they did not already have it. With a residence order, the parent will be able to make day-to-day decisions over the daily management of the childs life. However, major decisions will still have to be agreed with all people who have parental responsibility. Recently, more and more cases have moved towards a shared or split residence situation which is much like joint custody. A shared residence order will outline the amount of time that the child will spend with each parental figure. The amount of time does not have to be split equally.
Instead of access to a child, a parent who is not living with the child will now have contact. Contact does not necessarily have to be direct and can be through letters or telephone calls. In some cases the non-residential parent may be supervised during their contact times and if they pose a threat to the child, they may not be granted any contact time at all. Contact is important for children because it enables them to cope better with the divorce if they maintain a relationship with both their parents. Courts will take into account the wishes and feelings of the child, as the best interests of the child are central. Contact should be seen as a childs right to see a parent, not a parents right to see a child. Child care solicitors can help with acquiring parental responsibility, petitioning for a residence order and organising contact time.
by: Izzy Evans
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
