By Ashleigh Paige Yarde
Following the breakdown of a family, there are a number of matters to address with care and it is always helpful to seek legal advice. Our Head of Family Department, Rakhi Singal, was approached by a father seeking an equal shared care arrangement for his child, after separating from his partner.
The client and his ex partner had previously reached an agreement to share care of their child. However, things took a left turn as can often be the case when attempting to effectively co-parent. Despite the mother agreeing to facilitate contact in line with their arrangement, she would often make alternative plans on the father’s days for contact, sometimes alleging these were prior commitments. Furthermore, there were prolonged periods of no contact as the mother would allege that the child was not well or did not feel like having contact. Our client felt at a loss and sought clarity as to what rights he had as the child’s father and sharing care of his child.
Arrangements regarding children after a separation are often complex and delicate. They can become messy and also place pressure on the children of the relationship. We understand the issues that often come with children proceedings and our extensive experience has served our clients in clearly understanding what their position is and what the realistically achievable outcome can be, while helping the parties to put their child’s best interest front and centre.
As in all cases, whenever father’s rights in child arrangements come into an issue, our team evaluates whether the client indeed has parental responsibility over the child or not, as this is an essential element in helping our father clients achieve meaningful contact with their children.
If you are experiencing any kind of issues with the arrangements around your children, do not delay it. Often enough, the longer the issues are allowed to fester, the more complex they become. Speak to one of our experienced child arrangement solicitors by contacting us on 020 3372 5125 or fill in the form.
