Where the law is concerned, the welfare of a child is paramount. As a firm, we are committed to the wellbeing of all children during legal proceedings or mediation. We have written a number of articles which you may find useful if you are needing some advice on making arrangements for your children. If you have specific requirements, please contact one of our child law specialists.
A Family Group Conference (FGC) is a decision-making process that empowers families to take responsibility for resolving issues that affect their children. The idea behind a FGC is to bring together the family, friends and relevant professionals (such as the social worker, school etc.) to develop a plan of action that addresses
What is an initial viability assessment? If there are safeguarding concerns about a child, Children’s Services (sometimes referred to as social services or the local authority) start to think about whether there are any other alternative carers within the family network that could care for that child, if they can’t
Last Sunday (5th October) was Grandparents’ Day in the UK. I am sure it’s mainly a day which has been manufactured by the flowers and cards industry, but it does give us an opportunity to reflect on the value that grandparents give to our society and to consider whether they
Are you struggling to agree arrangements for your children for the school holidays? The school summer holidays will soon be upon us, before we know it! School holidays can cause stress for any family, with balancing childcare, work, and holiday plans. But for separated parents, this is especially hard. The
Christmas should be a magical, exciting time of year for children. However, when their parents are going through a separation or have separated, it can also be a very stressful, difficult time, full of uncertainty, feelings of sadness and having to find their way through a difficult situation. If you
This week it’s been Mental Health Awareness Week, which has prompted me to think back on my 26 years practicing as a family solicitor, and to think about how those cases might have had better outcomes for those children and young people. For most of that time, I’ve been a
Don’t wait until school holiday are here before you think about your parenting arrangements and plans for the summer! School holidays bring a change of routine, and living arrangements that work well in term-time can prove inadequate or problematic in the summer. Karen Newman and I are family mediators, and
There has been a very welcome recent change in eligibility for Legal Aid for those involved in Special Guardianship Order (“SGO”) applications. Legal Aid has been extended, so that from 1st May, all those with parental responsibility are entitled to non means tested (but still subject to a merit test)
Until recently, parents who could not reach agreement on their child or children’s arrangements, and who were involved in the court process, could find themselves referred by CAFCASS onto a SPIP Course – or Separated Parents Information Programme. Recently this has been replaced by a new course, the Planning Together
It is that time of year, with Christmas behind us that we start to plan the forthcoming year and the possibilities of going on holiday. If you are a separated parent, there are a few matters that you need to bear in mind which I have set out below. The mother