Children Matters Articles

If you’ve lost contact with your grandchild, there are practical steps and legal options available. This article explains grandparents’ rights, mediation (MIAM), and when you can apply for a Child Arrangements Order for direct or indirect contact.

If you are worried your child could be taken out of the country without your agreement, acting quickly is essential. From applying for a Prohibited Steps Order to requesting a port alert, there are several legal tools available to you and knowing which to use can make all the difference.

Parental alienation, or ‘alienating behaviour’, is increasingly significant in family proceedings. We explain what it means, how courts approach it, and what the landmark Re Y [2026] EWFC 38 judgment means for your case.

Your ex will want your child to meet their new partner, which may leave you wondering whether you have the right to meet them first. What are the issues?

Child relocation involves a parent moving with a child to a new location, whether within the country or abroad. However, if both parents share parental responsibility or have an ongoing court arrangement, relocating without consent could have serious legal consequences.

Parental responsibility encompasses the legal rights, duties, powers, and authority a parent has over their child. This legal concept plays a critical role in determining who has the authority to make decisions about a child’s upbringing, including aspects such as education, healthcare, and religion.

When parents or guardians cannot agree on certain aspects of their child’s upbringing, a Specific Issue Order can provide a solution. This legal order, issued by the family court, addresses specific disputes and are often used when parents cannot agree on matters such as education, medical treatment, relocation, or name changes.

A Prohibited Steps Order (PSO) is a court order that restricts or prohibits certain actions in family law proceedings, typically involving children. These orders are often used to protect the well-being of children and to prevent harmful actions from being taken by one or both parents.

Separation can be a difficult time for families, especially when it comes to children’s well-being. A Child Arrangement Order is a legal framework established by a court to ensure that children have consistent and healthy relationships with both parents after separation.

A pre-proceedings meeting, or legal gateway meeting, means that the Local Authority is concerned about the care of your children and is considering taking the matter to Court.

Receiving a pre-proceedings letter from Social Services can be a concerning and pivotal moment for families. The PLO letter indicates that the Local Authority is troubled about the welfare of your children and is contemplating court involvement.

Child abduction is when a person takes or sends a child under the age of 16 out of the UK without the consent of those with parental responsibility or consent from the court.

Is your ex-partner not letting you see your children as much as you want, or at all? Have you tried discussing this and negotiating, to no avail? It may be that the only way left for you is to apply to court to get an order to see your children.

A child arrangement order is a court order which sets out the arrangements for where and with who children with live and how often, and under what circumstances they will spend time with the non-resident parent. Can you enforce it and how?

There are three main options for arranging child maintenance payments with your ex-partner where you are NOT married, these are informal/family based agreements, using the Child Maintenance Service and through a court order.

Whilst, ideally, no child would be affected by a divorce or separation, the reality is very different. If you are struggling with your ex-partner in terms of agreeing who can see the children, when, and how, then the court could get involved to help decide the issue.

Loretta Orsi-Barzanti considers the realities of child maintenance, the ups, the downs and how to navigate what can often be troubled waters.

Peter Bushell considers whether courts are likely to order that children be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Claudette Terrode looks at how the Child Maintenance Service operates.

Loretta Orsi-Barzanti considers the impact of a second ‘lockdown’ in relation to family disputes and divorce.