{"id":3637,"date":"2023-04-06T04:48:57","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T04:48:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/?page_id=3637"},"modified":"2023-08-29T04:33:20","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T04:33:20","slug":"child-arrangements","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/rules\/children\/childcare\/divorce\/child-arrangements\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Child Arrangements after Divorce or Separation in the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Making Child Arrangements If You Divorce<\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Separating from your partner does not relinquish you of your role as a parent. In fact, separating parents must still make arrangements for looking after their children.<\/p>\n<p>As a rule, ex-partners can avoid having to attend drawn-out and expensive court hearings by agreeing on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Where any children under the age of 16 will live.<\/li>\n<li>Where and when they will spend time with each of the parents.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can choose to make child arrangements &#8216;legally&#8217; binding using a solicitor. You can also use the same process to agree on child maintenance or you can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/rules\/children\/parenting\/arranging-child-maintenance-yourself\/\">arrange child support yourself<\/a> as a separate issue.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: Making parenting arrangements if you divorce or separate can differ outside of England and Wales. Read further advice on what to do during partnership breakdowns in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mygov.scot\/support-after-separation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Scotland<\/a> and in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nidirect.gov.uk\/information-and-services\/parents\/divorce-relationship-breakdown-and-family-courts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"https:\/\/www.nidirect.gov.uk\/information-and-services\/parents\/divorce-relationship-breakdown-and-family-courts noopener\">Northern Ireland<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3>Asking a Court to Help with Agreements<\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>After trying mediation, you can ask a court to make a decision on anything else that you fail to agree on. It&#8217;s best to consider going to court as a last resort situation.<\/p>\n<p>As a rule, you need to show that you attended a meeting to see if mediation will work for you before you apply to a court. But, if it involves social services or domestic abuse it would not be necessary.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: If you are <a href=\"\/rules\/legal\/courts\/legal-aid\/victims-of-domestic-abuse-or-violence\/\">separating from an abusive partner<\/a> you should get legal aid. You can also get information from <a href=\"\/rules\/legal\/citizenship\/\">Citizens Advice<\/a> and the &#8216;Sorting Out Separation&#8217; website.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><\/p>\n<h4>ALSO IN THIS SECTION<\/h4>\n<div class=\"category-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"list-content\">\n<h5>If You Can Reach an Agreement<\/h5>\n<p><p>Child arrangements become much simpler if both parties are in agreement. Even so, there are merits for making such an arrangement &#8216;legally&#8217; binding by <a href=\"\/rules\/children\/childcare\/divorce\/child-arrangements\/making-a-consent-order\/\">creating a consent order<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"list-content\">\n<h5>Using Mediation<\/h5>\n<p>There are situations where you need more help on agreeing how to make or change child arrangements after a separation. Try <a href=\"\/rules\/children\/childcare\/divorce\/child-arrangements\/using-mediation\/\">using mediation<\/a> or other methods to resolve the issue out of court.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"category-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"list-content\">\n<h5>When Ex-partners Cannot Agree<\/h5>\n<p>Ex-partners can&#8217;t always agree on child arrangements despite getting help or using mediation. There are several different <a href=\"\/rules\/children\/childcare\/divorce\/child-arrangements\/court-orders\/\">types of court orders<\/a> you can use to get an agreement.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"list-content\">\n<h5>Applying for a Court Order<\/h5>\n<p>There is a specific form to use when you <a href=\"\/rules\/children\/childcare\/divorce\/child-arrangements\/apply-for-a-court-order\/\">apply for a court order<\/a> to make arrangements for a child. Check the cost of the application and what happens after you apply for a court order.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"category-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"list-content\">\n<h5>Changing or Enforcing a Court Order<\/h5>\n<p>If ex-partners agree to <a href=\"\/rules\/children\/childcare\/divorce\/child-arrangements\/changing-a-court-order\/\">change a court order<\/a> there is a way to make it legal and binding. Find out how the court enforces an order and which forms you need to end a court order.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"updated-data\">\n  <strong>Making Child Arrangements When a Relationship Ends in United Kingdom<\/strong><br \/>\n  <time datetime=\"2022-01-01\">Last Updated 2022<\/time>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Making Child Arrangements If You Divorce Separating from your partner does not relinquish you of your role as a parent. In fact, separating parents must still make arrangements for looking after their children. As a rule, ex-partners can avoid having to attend drawn-out and expensive court hearings by agreeing on: Where any children under the&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/rules\/children\/childcare\/divorce\/child-arrangements\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Making Child Arrangements after Divorce or Separation in the UK<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":2538,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Making Child Arrangements after Divorce or Separation in the UK - UK Rules<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/rules\/children\/childcare\/divorce\/child-arrangements\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Making Child Arrangements after Divorce or Separation in the UK - UK Rules\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Making Child Arrangements If You Divorce Separating from your partner does not relinquish you of your role as a parent. 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