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Coronavirus and Child Arrangements Orders
Following the Stay at Home Rules that were issued on 23rd March, parents of children under 18 who are subject to a Child Arrangements Order (formerly known as a residence order or contact order) have been left wondering what to do when they feel those measures impact on their ability to abide by the Court Order.
Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division and Head of Family Justice, has released guidance “Coronavirus Crisis: Guidance on Compliance with Family Court Child Arrangement Orders” that provides suggestions on how to deal with the matter and the Courts’ mindset should a parent disregard the Order during this period.
The main points of the guide are:
- ‘parents [should] care for children by acting sensibly and safely when making decisions regarding the arrangements for their child and deciding where and with whom their child spends time.’
- ‘the best way to deal with these difficult times will be for parents to communicate with one another about their worries, and what they think would be a good, practical solution’ and that ‘Where parents, acting in agreement, exercise their parental responsibility to conclude that the arrangements set out in a CAO should be temporarily varied they are free to do so.’
- ‘The decision whether a child is to move between parental homes is for the child’s parents to make after a sensible assessment of the circumstances, including the child’s present health, the risk of infection and the presence of any recognised vulnerable individuals in one household or the other.’
- ‘where Coronavirus restrictions cause the letter of a court order to be varied, the spirit of the order should nevertheless be delivered by making safe alternative arrangements for the child.’
Please contact either Nigel Smith or Lauren Jones, Solicitor specialists in children law matters, for specific advice.
- Book an appointment with our Divorce & Family Law team
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Contact our team directly if you need family law advice
