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Children

Child Law Solicitors

At Crisp & Co, our extensive knowledge of family law has benefited many families in London and beyond to ensure the welfare of their children is protected no matter what.

Whether it’s regarding parental separation and living arrangements, adoption or childcare, you can rely on our expert child law solicitors to find solutions that suit the specific needs of your children.

When parents choose to separate, it can be a challenging time for their children. In a perfect world, both parties would reach an agreement regarding arrangements quickly and painlessly, with no legal battles and no court orders. However, due to the emotional nature of divorce or dissolution, this is not always possible. At Crisp & Co, our specialist child law solicitors have helped many separating couples to make critical decisions regarding their children with minimal costs and time involved.

When relations break down between you and your partner, protecting your children is our priority. Our experience and expertise in family law best places us to advise and represent you across all aspects of child care and upbringing; whether it’s regarding visitation rights, financial arrangements or the influence either parent has over the decisions that will shape their child’s life. Our child law solicitors are completely dedicated to ensuring the needs of your children are met regardless of how difficult the circumstances may be.

Legal arrangements can be daunting for children, particularly when they are too young to understand the concept of parental separation. Even into their teenage years, the sudden upset to family life caused by divorce can be emotionally challenging.

Our child law solicitors are highly trained in resolving disputes as efficiently and seamlessly as possible, always opting for peaceful routes to resolution that minimise the fallout of divorce. However, where alternative dispute resolution techniques such as mediation are not sufficient in protecting your child from harm, we will not hesitate in taking firm legal action to ensure your child is safe.

Contact our child law solicitors

If you would like to access support with child law today, please get in touch with our expert child law solicitors at Crisp & Co.

You can call us on 0330 013 0381 or contact your local Crisp & Co office.

Our child law services

Adoption

If you are considering adopting a child, our expert adoption solicitors at Crisp & Co can provide all the advice and support that you will need. Specifically, we can offer advice on parental responsibility, and help to apply for adoption, and obtain an Adoption Order.

To discuss you needs, please get in touch with a member of our friendly team.

Child Arrangements Orders

If you are going through a divorce, and you have children, we can help you to obtain a Child Arrangements Order. These orders are used to determine how child care and contact in the aftermath of divorce or dissolution.

We can help you to negotiate where your child will live, and how much time they will spend with each of their parents. Where possible, we will help you to arrange these matters out of Court. If this is not a viable option, we can guide you through the necessary Court proceedings.

Child Custody

Child residency, formerly known as child custody, is one of the key issues to decide on when parents divorce, or go through a civil partnership dissolution.

Issues of child custody can often be contentious, and so working with legal experts is well advised. Our children law solicitors can support you to resolve these issues as quickly as possible, protecting your interests and those of your child.

Child Maintenance Agreements

When parents divorce, or dissolve their civil partnership, child maintenance is usually paid by the parent who will no longer be living with the child (non-resident parent), to the parent who will be mainly living with the child (resident parent).

If you need advice and support with child maintenance in the aftermath of a separation, please get in touch with our specialist child maintenance solicitors.

At Crisp & Co, we have much experience providing child law advice, and can happily answer all of your questions.

Grandparents’ Rights Solicitors

If you are a grandparent who is struggling to access their grandchildren, for instance due to family conflict, we can support you.

Though grandparents do not automatically have the right to have contact with their grandchildren, we can assist you to secure this right and/or resolve any related disputes you are having. We have much experience helping families, much of the time we can help clients to solve these matters out of Court.

To discuss how we can help today, contact our grandparents’ rights solicitors.

Parental Alienation

Parental alienation means that one parent has deliberately manipulated their child so that they show disrespect, fear or hostility towards the other parent.

Facing this situation can be incredibly distressing, thankfully, family courts take parental alienation seriously. If these are your circumstances, we can provide advice and support, helping you to better your situation.

Parental Responsibility

Our expert solicitors at Crisp & Co can provide advice on parental rights, and help you to obtain parental responsibility if you do not already have this legal status. For example, those who are adopting a child, or having a child through a surrogate are likely to require this type of support.

To learn more about how we can help with parental responsibility matters, please get in touch.

Prohibited Steps Orders

Sometimes, divorced or separated parents will disagree about a certain aspect of a child’s upbringing. Not all of these disputes are easily solved, and so you might find that your case requires legal intervention.

If you need to, we can help you to obtain a Prohibited Steps Order, preventing your child’s other parent from making decisions about your child’s upbringing that you are opposed to. For instance, you might wish to stop your ex-partner from relocating overseas with your child, or from allowing your child to receive certain medical treatment.

To discuss prohibited steps orders, or access any other type of child law advice, contact our experts today.

Same Sex Parenting Solicitors

Our same sex parenting solicitors have much experience supporting same sex couples across a wide range of parenting issues, including:

  • Surrogacy for same sex couples
  • Egg and sperm donation for same sex couples
  • LGBT co-parenting arrangements

We understand that parenting issues can sometimes feel confusing, and are committed to providing straight forward and sensitive support to suit your circumstances.

Contact our child law solicitors

If you would like to access support with child law today, please get in touch with our expert child law solicitors at Crisp & Co.

You can call us on 0330 013 0381 or contact your local Crisp & Co office.

 

Common questions about child law

Why do I need a child law solicitor?

If you and your partner have decided to obtain a divorce or dissolution,  and you have children, it’s essential to gain advice from a specialist child law solicitor at the earliest opportunity. At Crisp & Co, we will always prioritise the needs of your children within a dispute.

Starting from your first appointment and continuing throughout the divorce process, we will provide strategic advice and on-going support to ensure that they are receiving adequate care, and their health and safety is not at risk. With decades of practical experience in child law, you can count on us to rigorously, yet sensitively represent you and your children’s welfare at all times.

To obtain bespoke children law support today, please contact our specialists at Crisp & Co.

What happens if we cannot reach an agreement about the children?

The Courts will not normally get involved with the arrangements for the children and only do so where there is an issue relating to the protection of your children or if the parents are unable to reach agreement on an important aspect of their child’s upbringing.

If this is the case, the Court will always act in the children’s best interests. Your dedicated child law solicitor will be able to provide guidance and representation through this process in order to ensure your specific needs are taken into account.

Working with a children law specialist is the best way to ensure that your interests and those of your child are protected.

Which court order should I apply for regarding my children?

If you and your partner cannot reach an agreement regarding your children through mediation, the court will issue an order that establishes their living arrangements post-divorce. The most common court orders in child law cases are:

  • Child Arrangement Orders
    Child Arrangement Orders are issued when the court reaches a decision regarding where your child will live, when your child spends time with either parent and what kind of contact e.g. phone calls, are allowed to take place with the parent who is not caring for the child.
  • Specific Issue Orders
    Specific Issue Orders can be used if you have specific requirements regarding the child’s upbringing, such as which school they go to or what religious education they receive.
  • Prohibited Steps Orders
    A Prohibited Steps order can be put in place to stop the other parent from making decisions regarding the child’s upbringing without consultation.

Whatever your circumstances, our child law solicitors will guide you through the process, providing advice and support regarding which court orders will be appropriate in your particular situation.

Before attempting to apply for any type of court order it is important that you receive expert children law advice.

Do I have Parental Responsibility?

Parental Responsibility refers to the legal rights, duties, powers and authority a parent has over the upbringing of a child. Important decisions in the child’s life will have to be decided and agreed upon by all parties who have parental responsibility. Whether or not you have Parental Responsibility will depend upon your legal status as a parent.

By default, the birth mother of a child has parental responsibility. If the father of the child was not married to the mother at the time of birth, they will not automatically have parental responsibility unless they have been registered on the child’s birth certificate.

If you wish to apply for parental responsibility - for example, if you have been acting as a father to the child and are now married to the mother - you can do so through the courts. Our child law solicitors will be more than happy to answer any questions you have on the matter and guide you through the application process.

What can I do if my partner takes the children abroad without my consent?

If your partner takes your child abroad without your permission, this is classed as a criminal offence. While they may believe they are justified in doing so due to specific circumstances, it is still a form of child abduction, and you should contact the police immediately. From here, the police may be able to set up a Port Alert, a court order that prevents the children from leaving the country.

Once in place, this court order will work by alerting essentially all departure ports in the country of the child’s identity to ensure that your partner has no means of leaving the country with the child. If you suspect your partner has taken your child abroad and preventative methods are too late, get in touch with our child law solicitors today. This can be a particularly complex area of law, but we will take necessary legal action and work around the clock to protect the safety of your child.

If you would like further advice about this area of child law, please get in touch with our expert solicitors at Crisp & Co.

How much will my child law solicitor cost?

Arrangements regarding children are usually agreed upon during the process of divorce, which in itself can vary in costs and time involved. The longer it takes you and your partner to reach an agreement regarding your children, the more the overall process will cost. However, at Crisp & Co, our child law solicitors pride ourselves on offering the most competitive rates for the best expertise.

We understand that the process of separation and disputes regarding children are stressful enough without mentioning the fees. That’s why our child law solicitors will always be up front from day one, providing you with a rough estimation of costs and timescales upon your first appointment. Should child law matters evolve and become more complicated as the case progresses, we will make sure to provide you with an updated estimation of costs so that you know where you stand.

For those clients who have a need to limit costs to a certain sum, we also offer a ‘pay as you go’ service, whereby work is limited to a certain cost limit set by the client. You will not be charged for your initial appointment at Crisp & Co. We can find out what your needs are and how we can help you and also give you an estimate of your likely overall legal fees, including expenses and VAT.

Is there anything I need to bring with me to my first appointment with Crisp & Co?

If you need expert advice from our child law solicitors, it is useful if you provide us with the following:

  • Your passport or photo identity driving licence plus another proof of identity which bears your name and address, such as a recent utility bill.
  • Any letters or documents that have been sent to you by your partner/husband/wife’s solicitors.
  • Any documents that have been sent to you by the Court.

If it is not possible for you to provide us with the information listed above at the first appointment, don’t worry. This can always be given at a later date. However, the more documentation you can provide us with, the better we will be able to advise you.

Please contact us for more information.