Who will make the decisions about where my child will live?

It’s always best for you and your spouse to decide between yourselves who your children will live with and how often they will see the other parent.

After all, you know your children best. Agreements that are made together mean that both you and your spouse are invested in making them work.

If you cannot manage to come to an agreement between yourselves, then you could try mediation (an independent third party aiding discussions) or collaborative law (where you and your spouse meet and discuss the issues with both of your solicitors present). It may also be worth trying some kind of counselling, either together or separately, to talk through your issues about the children and the relationship breakdown in general.

If you still cannot reach an agreement, specialist solicitors such as Austin Kemp can advise you on how to take your case to court. Court should always be a last resort but it is sometimes necessary if no agreement can be reached. If you do go to court, a judge will then make a child arrangement order stating who the children will live with and how often they should see the other parent. You and your spouse could also separately attend a Separated Parents Information Programme to help you decide your child arrangements.

For more information on this subject please visit our Legal Library.

Contact us to see how we can help you with divorce and child arrangements

For more information call our team on 0845 862 5001 or email mail@austinkemp.co.uk.

We offer a nationwide service. We have client meeting office facilities available, in order to have face-to-face client meetings / conferences as and when required in:

London Office: Duncannon Street, London WC2N 4JF

Manchester Office: King Street, Manchester, M2 4PD

Leeds Office: Princes Exchange, Princes Square, Leeds, LS1 4HY

Huddersfield Office: Northumberland Street Huddersfield, HD1 1RL

Please contact us for more details.