Children

Family Law Hertfordshire, Child Law Barnet Hertfordshire, Legal Aid Barnet Hertfordshire

We all want the best for our children and relationship breakdown often affects our relationship with our children and grandchildren. A child's welfare is our paramount concern.

Wherever possible it is always best for child arrangements to be reached on an amicable basis whether it be directly between their parents, through mediation or with the assistance of lawyers.

At Enfield Family Law we advise on all aspects of children law including: -

PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

Parental Responsibility, PR is defined as 'all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property'. The biological mother of a child will always have PR, save in rare circumstances such as adoption. However a father does not always necessarily have PR. The biological father will share PR if he was married to the mother at the time of the birth or if, the child having born after 2013, the father has been named on the child's birth certificate. Alternatively PR can be obtained by way of agreement or court order.

CHILD ARRANGEMENTS ORDER

Such orders used to be known as 'custody', ' access', 'residence' and 'contact'. In other words, they settle where a child shall live and when the child shall see the other parent, often known as the 'absent parent'.

PROHIBITED STEPS / SPECIFIC ISSUE ORDERS

These are court orders that, either prevent a parent from doing something, for example from removing a child from the jurisdiction, or order a parent to do something, for example order a child to be known by a specific surname. These are just 2 examples of a whole range of issues that can arise when parents separate that require regulating.

GRANDPARENTS

There is a wealth of studies that endorse the importance of relationships between children and grandparents. Unfortunately, during relationship breakdown the child / grandparent relationship often suffers. We at Enfield Family Law advise and assist grandparents to maintain those important relationships.

In cases where there has been a history of domestic abuse / violence, you may be entitled to Legal Aid to help with the legal costs.

Enfield Family Law will assist through the minefield of legal processes and help you reach child focused solutions. Contact us for further information.