Child arrangement solicitors
Our child arrangement lawyers are here to support you in making arrangements for your children on divorce or separation, and when circumstances change.
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Our children lawyers will help you establish clear arrangements regarding where your children will live and how much time they will spend with each parent. Whether through negotiation, mediation, or court proceedings, our priority aligns with yours - the best interests of your children.
Constructive advice from a child law expert at an early stage can be invaluable, particularly if matters are complex and involve allegations of abuse or violence.
Other orders may be made which relate to child relocation, whether within the jurisdiction or moving abroad, other aspects of decision making and parental responsibility, special guardianship, child abduction and/or financial provision for children including child maintenance and school fees orders.
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Child arrangement orders
A Child Arrangements Order determines with whom a child will live, spend time, or maintain contact, as well as the timing of these interactions. Each order is tailored to the unique circumstances of the family and focuses on what is in the best interests of the specific child involved.
Types of court order
The type of order required is dependant on your personal situation and the extent to which you have been able to agree matters with the other parent. You can apply for more than one court order.
- A 'lives with' order (previously called 'custody' or 'residence') — used to regulate with whom a child should live;
- A 'time spent with' order (previously called 'access' or 'contact') — used to regulate time spent by a child with people who they do not live with;
- A ‘prohibited steps’ order — used to prevent one parent from taking certain action without the other parent's consent or court order. A common use of this order is to prevent one parent from taking a child abroad, taking a child out of school or to prevent a change of surname; and
- A specific issue order — which allows the court to make a decision on a disputed point of parental responsibility such as the school a child should attend, whether a child should be known by a particular name, have a particular medical procedure of operation or the religion a child should adopt.
All of these orders will usually last until a child is aged 16.
Accolades
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The team provides an exceptional service of early, clear and realistic advice, very high attention to detail, considered and careful analysis of all realistic angles, and options to ensure that every step is taken at the appropriate time to ensure that the client's interests are best promoted and secured.
Legal 500 2026 -
The team offers a professional service. All of the members of the team I have dealt with have been knowledgeable and committed to getting the best result for the client.
Legal 500 2026 -
The care taken by the team is remarkable and reassuring for clients.
Legal 500 2026 -
An efficient team performing at a high level.
Legal 500 2026 -
A wonderful team who offer pragmatic advice whilst robustly defending the interests of their clients.
Legal 500 2026 -
Weightmans family law department is very dynamic. Being part of a larger firm means that they are able to draw on the expertise of other departments in the firm, which can be extremely helpful.
Legal 500 2025 -
Highly specialised family law team with a breadth of experience.
Legal 500 2025 -
The team at Weightmans is well known and respected in the family law market... They approach complex family law matters in a straightforward manner that is focused on resolution for their clients.
Legal 500 2025 -
The team is made up of extremely capable individuals dealing with complex and high-net-worth work. They are all technically very sound and work in a collaborative way with other lawyers.
Legal 500 2025 -
Weightmans have expanded hugely their family law capacity which is testament to their aspirations within this space... Experience, reputation and depth all add to the overall approach.
Legal 500 2025 -
The family team are totally focused on assisting clients to identify their immediate needs as well as helping them to gain clarity around the future. They take a family focused view and work on the assumption that court action should be avoided if at all possible by working collaboratively with other solicitors.
Legal 500 2025 -
The team provided fantastic communication and sound advice throughout the process. All possible outcomes and costs were set out at the beginning - they couldn’t have been more helpful.
Chambers 2025 -
The team showed total professional attention to detail and gave me inspiration to continue even when things seemed unsurmountable.
Chambers 2025 -
They couldn’t be more efficient and nothing is ever too much trouble for them.
Chambers 2025 -
Clients get what they pay for at Weightmans in that the preparation is meticulous. They are so good at looking after the client and making sure that everything is where it needs to be.
Chambers 2025 -
The lawyers are very experienced with knowledge encompassing a broad range of family law issues. They are adept at dealing with cross-border disputes and I would rate them as very strong in this area.
Chambers 2025 -
Weightmans is very up to speed in the latest legal trends and has good connections with the legal profession.
Chambers 2025 -
Weightmans has technically competent lawyers with a focus on solutions and the team is very pleasant to deal with, which benefits their clients.
Chambers 2025 -
Weightmans is efficient, experienced and professional. The team has an excellent range of experiences and ability, and they provide immediate responses.
Chambers 2025
