If you are in a situation where you are considering enforcing a child Arrangement Order, we can help you through the process. The following post goes into a little detail about what is involved but for more information, please call 0800 024 1976 or contact us via the online form.
Email Us
What is a Child Arrangements Order?
A Child Arrangements Order regulates with whom a child is to live, spend time or otherwise have contact with or when a child is to live, spend time or otherwise have contact with a person, or both. Under section 8 children Act 1989, Child Arrangement Orders regulate contact and living arrangements concerning children.
Following parental separation, sometimes if the parties are unable to agree to amicable arrangements concerning children, then applying for a Child Arrangements Order may be the only option left to a parent who wants to secure regular contact with their child.
How are Child Arrangement Orders enforced?
There are a few areas you will wish to understand before going through the process of enforcing a Child Arrangements Order:
The warning notice
When making Child Arrangement Orders, the Court is required to attach a ‘Warning Notice’. The purpose of this is to encourage the parties to comply with the order and warn them of the consequences of failing to do so.
The Child Arrangements Order must contain the warning notice in order for an enforcement order to be made. In other words, the person who is in breach of the order must know of the existence of the warning notice. The warning notice is usually on the face of the order and will be referred to by the judge when the order is made. If your order does not have a warning notice on it you may wish to seek legal advice.
Who can enforce a Child Arrangements Order?
When a parent fails to comply with the child’s arrangements as prescribed in the order, a party may make a further application to the Court if they need to enforce the provisions.
You may apply for the enforcement of a Child Arrangements Order if:
- You are the person named in the order with whom the child lives, or
- You are the person named in the order with whom the child is to have contact with
What the Court considers when enforcing a Child Arrangement Order
When the Court considers whether to make an enforcement order, the Court must be satisfied that making the order is necessary and proportionate to the seriousness and frequency of the party breaching the order.
The Court will consider:
- The reasons for the non-compliance
- The effect of non-compliance on the child concerned
- The welfare of the child
- Whether advice from CAFCASS is required on an appropriate way of moving forward
- If the parties should attend any dispute resolution programmes
How are Child Arrangement Orders Enforced?
Where a Court is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that a person has failed to comply with a Child Arrangements Order, it has the power to enforce it in a number of ways. These include:
- Referring the parties to a separated parents information program (SPIP) or mediation
- Variation of the Child Arrangements Order, which could include a more defined order or reconsideration of the child’s living or contact arrangements
- An enforcement order or suspended enforcement order
- An order for compensation for financial loss
- Committal to prison
- A fine
Enforcing Child Arrangement Orders – unpaid work
The Court can impose a requirement to undertake between 40 and 200 hours of unpaid work.
Enforcing Child Arrangement Orders – financial compensation
The Court may make an order requiring the person in breach to pay the applicant compensation for their financial loss if it is satisfied that a person has failed to comply with a provision of a Child Arrangements Order and the applicant has suffered financial loss because of the breach.
Applicants will often seek compensation for wasted holiday or travel costs arising due to a respondent’s failure to make the child available for contact in accordance with the Court order.
Breaching a Child Arrangements Order
The Court will take a breach of an order seriously and will often impose sanctions. Therefore, if you do not intend to comply with a Child Arrangements Order you should take advice and make an application to vary the order rather than place yourself in breach and face the consequences of enforcement.
In enforcement proceedings, the burden of proof is on the person in breach of the order to show they had a reasonable excuse for failing to comply and this can often be a high hurdle to overcome. In all cases, it is always advisable to obtain an expert opinion from a suitably qualified specialist lawyer.
How Nelsons Can Help
Melanie Bridgen is a Partner in our family Law team.
If you have a Child Arrangement Order in place and a party to that order is failing to comply with the terms then your first port of call is to try to resolve the issue privately. If this is not possible then you may wish to seek mediation or an application to Court for enforcement which Nelsons can help you with.
If you need advice regarding child arrangement orders or any other family law related matters, please contact Melanie or another member of the team who will be happy to discuss your circumstances in more detail and give you more information about the services that our team can provide along with details of our hourly rates and fixed fee services.
Contact one of the team by telephone on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.
Contact us
This article is for information only and does not constitute legal/financial advice. Please contact us for advice tailored to your specific position. Some of the content presented on our website has been generated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). We ensure that all AI-generated content meets our high standards for accuracy and relevance.
