Child arrangement orders are used to resolve disputes between adults in relation to how a child is to spend his or her time until they reach an age of majority.
An application for a child arrangements order is an application to the court asking them to make an order in respect of the short and long term contact and living arrangements of the children concerned.
In most cases, the courts require the assistance of the social services or Cafcass to prepare a report and provide recommendations relating to the children. The recommendations focus on the welfare of the children with reference to the welfare checklist found at Section 1 of the Children Act 1989.
There is usually more than one report prepared by social services/ Cafcass throughout the court process. This is done to ensure that the court is provided with up to date recommendations relating to interim and final contact between the parties and the children.
In some cases, where there are substantial allegations of domestic abuse, the court is likely to determine that a fact finding hearing is necessary in order to determine the veracity of the allegations advanced by the respective parties.
It is imperative to note that when making findings at a fact finding hearing, the judge(s) have to be satisfied, on a balance of probabilities, that an allegation is made out. Where there are previous findings/ determinations of a court i.e. a criminal court, the fact finding judge is unlikely to revisit those findings/ determinations.
The findings of fact made by the judge(s) assist social services or Cafcass to prepare a final report by enabling them to provide recommendations relating to the welfare of the child, whilst considering any substantiated findings made against any party.
After the social services/ Cafcass complete their final report, they serve it on all the parties and the court. Following this, there is usually one final hearing during which all parties present their proposals relating to the future child living and contact arrangements. During this final hearing, the author of the local authority/ Cafcass reports is usually asked to attend the hearing to give evidence.
In the event that a party disagrees with the recommendations set out in the final social services/ Cafcass report, they are able to challenge the recommendations and the basis of those recommendations by challenging the evidence of the author(s).
After hearing evidence from all of the parties and witnesses, the court then makes a child arrangements order and gives its reasons for doing so.
For expert advice and assistance regarding fact finding hearings, or to arrange representation for a fact-finding hearing, contact Zubair through the contact page on this website. Zubair a London-based family barrister who can help with any aspect of family disputes, such as child arrangements, divorce, and matrimonial finance. He is qualified to accept instructions from members of the public, also known as direct access.
