Hill Dickinson’s family team specialises in helping families reach amicable solutions about childcare arrangements and representing parties in court proceedings.
Expert advice is provided on:
- Residence orders (formerly known as custody orders)
- Contact orders (formerly known as access orders)
- Financial provision and child support claims
- Orders relating to children’s schooling, for example determining whether a child should attend a particular school and the payment of school fees
- Orders prohibiting certain steps, for example one parent taking a child out of the country without the other parent’s agreement
- The obtaining and exercise of parental responsibility for children
Key considerations:
- Children are vulnerable to the effects of separation and divorce. In the majority of cases, children need to maintain a relationship with both parents and their extended family
- Courts can make shared residence orders, although this does not necessarily mean that a child will spend an equal amount of time with both parents
- If parents are able to reach an agreement over childcare arrangements - either through negotiations or the collaborative process - there may be no need to obtain a formal court order
- Contact and child support arrangements should be the subject of regular review
- Extended family members can begin court
proceedings if contact arrangements cannot be agreed
The family
department "focuses on high to mid-range ancillary relief, and
handles referrals from the firm's large corporate department".
