If you are in a situation where you are considering enforcing a Child Arrangement Order Nelsons Solicitors can help you through the process. The following post goes into a little detail of what is involved but for more information please contact 0800 024 1976 or email us directly.
What is a Child Arrangement Order?
Under section 8 of the Children Act 1989, Child Arrangement Orders regulate contact and living arrangements concerning children.
Following parental separation, sometimes if the parties are unable to agree amicable arrangements concerning children then applying for a Child Arrangement 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 Arrangement 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 of the consequences of failing to do so. The Child Arrangement 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. This could be by having a copy of the Child Arrangement Order with the warning notice attached or being otherwise informed.
Who can enforce a Child Arrangement Order?
When a parent fails to comply with the contact 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 Arrangement Order relating to contact if you are the person named in the order with whom the child lives with 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 checklist
- Whether advice from CAFCASS is required on an appropriate way of moving forward
- If the parties should attend any dispute resolution programmes
Consequences of breaching a Child Arrangement Order?
The court has a wide range of powers available where a party has breached the order without reasonable excuse. This includes:
- Variation of the child arrangement order
- Referral to mediation or a separated parenting information programme
- A fine
- Unpaid work
- Financial compensation
- Committal to prison
This below focuses on enforcing a child arrangement order by imposing an unpaid work requirement and an order for financial compensation:
Enforcement of a Child Arrangement Order – Unpaid Work
The court can impose a requirement to undertake between 40 and 200 hours unpaid work.
Enforcement of a Child Arrangement Order – Financial Compensation
The court may make an order requiring the person in breach of the Child Arrangement Order to pay the applicant compensation for his/her financial loss. The court would need to be satisfied that a person has failed to comply with a provision of a Child Arrangement 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.
The court will take breach of a Child Arrangement Order very seriously and will often impose sanctions. Therefore, if you do not intend to comply with a Child Arrangement 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 child arrangement 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 expert opinion from a suitably qualified specialist lawyer.
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 Solicitors can help you with. Contact one of the team by telephone on 0800 024 1976 or by via our online form.