Can I change a child arrangements order?

Court orders made in respect of children may not provide for flexibility and a change in your child’s needs as they get older. If your situation has changed and you feel that the arrangements are no longer in their best interests, what can you do?

Find out more about the types of orders the family court can make.

In what circumstances may an order be varied?

Court orders are determined at a specific point in time, and at a specific point in a child’s life. The court will need to be persuaded that the circumstances now are not the same as they were when the original order was made.

So what constitutes a change in circumstances? The following list of examples is not exhaustive:

1. Practicalities — your child may have changed schools, or one of you may have moved house. The order may no longer be working because of travel times and the impact this is having on the child.
2. Health — this could relate to one of the parents or the child.
3. Deterioration in the relationship between the child and the other parent. This can be difficult and is often denied by the other parent so the child’s wishes and feelings will be crucial to consider.
4. Welfare concerns about the other parent and their ability to meet the needs of the child.
5. Concern about a risk of harm to the child in the other parent’s care.
6. The wishes of the child. One of the most common reasons for older children to express a wish to change the arrangements is as a result of their increasing independence, and desire to spend more time at a ‘base’ with one parent because it is closer to friends/activities.

Learn more about children law.

What are the options?

One parent should not change the terms of an order without the agreement of the other parent or a court order.

If there is a serious risk of harm to the child if the arrangements are not changed, urgent advice should be sought from a family solicitor. They can advise on what immediate action to take and the merits of making an urgent application to the family court.

If there is no urgency, these are the steps you should consider:

a) Reaching an agreement

This may often be easier said than done. If you have a reasonable relationship with your child’s other parent, the starting point would be to invite them to discuss and agree your proposed changes.

If you can do this successfully and the changes are limited, you don’t necessarily need to go back to court. In that situation and where you have a trusting relationship with your co-parent you should just document the changes in writing and make sure your ex-partner has seen them and not disputed the arrangement.

You should obtain a revised court order if the changes are significant and/or you don’t have such a good relationship with the other parent. That can be done by your family solicitor who will draft the new order and submit it to the court on a consensual basis. In those circumstances, you are unlikely to need to attend court unless there is something the judge is unsure about. CAFCASS will need to complete updated safeguarding checks.

b) Mediation

Except in limited circumstances, the family court would require you to consider mediation as a first step. You can arrange to attend a Mediation, Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) with a family mediator without the other parent to discuss your options. The mediator will be able to talk through your objectives, your relationship with the other parent and whether any of the various types of mediation would be suitable.

Mediation is not compulsory and if you feel that your ex may try to take advantage of you, drag things out etc. then you can speak to the mediator about your concerns. If you agree that mediation as a forum to try to resolve matters is not appropriate the other parent will not be invited to attend and the mediator will issue a certificate to enable you to issue court proceedings if you choose to do so.

c) Instructing a family solicitor

Your solicitor will try to open a dialogue with your ex by explaining the changes that you want to make and why.

Most situations can be resolved through solicitor dialogue and support.

d) Making a court application

The first step is to make an application to vary the existing court order. In your application, you should explain in brief what changes you seek and why.

Once your application has been made, the other parent will have the opportunity to respond and a hearing called a First Hearing and Dispute Resolution appointment (FHDRA) fixed to enable you to discuss the situation with judicial input. If matters cannot be resolved, often the court will ask both parents to write a short statement explaining the situation and the court order they are seeking (this should be drafted in conjunction with your family solicitor).

How does the family court decide whether to change the order?

CAFCASS (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) who are appointed to advise the court on what is safe for children, and in their best interests, might be asked to write a report and set out their recommendations if there is a safeguarding or welfare concern. The allocated CAFCASS officer will meet with you, the other parent and the child to gain your views and experiences. They may also meet or discuss matters with wider family members, and other relevant persons such as teachers.

The court will then consider those recommendations, and the arrangements sought by each parent, against ‘The Welfare Checklist’ set out in S1 Children Act 1989 to determine whether the changes are going to be in your child’s best interests. This includes:

1. The ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child
2. The child’s physical, emotional and educational needs
3. The likely effect on the child if the circumstances were changed
4. The child’s age, sex, background and relevant characteristics
5. Any harm that the child has, or may be at risk of suffering
6. The capability of the parents to meet the child’s needs
7. The powers available to the court

An order will then be made.

Learn more about non-court options