Do you have to get a consent order for child arrangements?

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If you’re a parent and decide to separate from your partner, you will need to work out arrangements for your children. These child arrangements include where they will live, how you will share their care and how often you will both spend time with them. You will also need to decide on other topics such as holidays, school and communication with each other.

Where you document these arrangements is up to you both. In this blog, we will discuss the different options available and things some legal topics which might cause confusion (ie. the ‘no-order principle’).

What is the no-order principle?

The ‘no-order’ principle is part of the Children Act (1989) which says that a judge shouldn’t make a decision on the welfare of children in private family court proceedings if they believe it would be in the best interest of everyone, especially the children, to not make an order.

The result of the ‘no-order’ principle is that parents must make as many arrangements for their children as they can without the court’s intervention.

If you would like to speak to a Co-parenting Specialist, you can book a joint consultation below to start your co-parenting journey amicably.

FAQs

Where can I get a child consent order template?

Although there isn’t specifically called a ‘child consent order’, you can document your child arrangements through a formal parenting plan, although not legally binding in court, it holds some weight in the eyes of the law.

What is a consent order for a child?

Most of the time, child arrangements aren’t included in a consent order due to the ‘no-order’ principle. Generally, this means that the courts leave it up to the parents to make as many arrangements for their children as they possibly can. If the parents can’t come to an agreement, the courts will intervene. If the parents can come to an agreement and wish to make their child arrangements formal, one option is to create a parenting plan which, although not legally binding in courts, does hold weight in the eyes of the law. You can speak to one of our Co-parenting Specialists to learn more here.

Is child maintenance included in the consent order?

When it comes to the consent order, child maintenance is something that can be included. Many parents choose instead to formalise their child arrangements, including how much maintenance will be paid. How much child maintenance one parent pays to the other can be estimated through the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) as they are the authority that ensures that child maintenance is paid where necessary. Listen to this episode of The Divorce Podcast where Kate Daly is joined by Jack Gillis from Gingerbread to discuss Child Maintenance.

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Comments (2)

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Sasha
29.11.2024 13:06

Would you be able to help me get a child arrangement order put in place please

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Tatiana from amicable
03.12.2024 10:34

Hi Sasha, thank you for getting in touch with us. We don't offer child arrangement orders, however, our Separating with Children Service will help you come to an agreement on your child's arrangements. We can also help you come up with a 'parenting plan' which will document your outcomes from the session. This plan can then be uploaded to our co-parenting app for easy access.

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