When a relationship ends and there are children to consider, it is important to make arrangements that protect those children’s best interests while also maintaining your rights as a parent. Our child law solicitors in Reading can help you to achieve this in an amicable way wherever possible or through the courts if this cannot be avoided.
At Clifton Ingram, we take a sensitive but pragmatic approach to child related issues. We will get to know you and your circumstances so that we can take the right approach for your concerns and priorities. In most cases, we are able to secure agreement on child arrangements and other issues through negotiation and alternative dispute resolution, dealing with these matters faster, at a lower cost and with less stress.
We work with clients in the Reading area and further afield, providing high-level expertise and first-class client service for a variety of UK child law matters.
Our child law solicitors in Reading can assist with issues including:
- Negotiating arrangements for children following a separation
- Court applications for Child Arrangements Orders
- Dealing with one-off issues through negotiation and Specific Issue Orders
- Prohibited Steps Orders
Why trust Clifton Ingram’s child law specialists in Reading?
- Our team is ranked for Family Law in respected client guide The Legal 500
- Each of our children solicitors in Reading is a member of top family law network Resolution
- We have the experience to deal effectively with both straightforward and more complex matters
- Our team work strategically to quickly resolve child related issues in the right way for you and your family
- We communicate clearly in plain English and will answer your questions promptly
Our child law advice services
Negotiating child arrangements following a separation
The standard approach to dealing with child arrangements after divorce and separation is for the parents to agree where the children will live as well as any other matters that need to be resolved such as child access issues.
Reaching an amicable agreement is usually in the children’s best interests and can help to keep a more positive relationship between the parents. This can either be achieved through negotiation between the parents, with or without the support of lawyers, or through alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation and collaborative law.
At Clifton Ingram, our child law specialists are experts in negotiation and alternative dispute resolution. As such, we can give you the best chance of securing a sensible agreement on arrangements for children without unnecessary conflict or contentious court proceedings. We can also provide honest advice on where such processes may not be suitable and going down the court route may be more appropriate.
Court applications for Child Arrangements Orders
If you are unable to agree on arrangements for your children or feel this approach would be inappropriate for your circumstances, then it may be necessary to ask a court to decide where your children should live and other child access issues.
You may also need to apply to a court if you had previously agreed child arrangements but the other parent is now refusing to abide by the agreed terms. In such cases, our solicitors for child access can support you in taking court action.
Making an application for a Child Arrangements Order can be a worrying prospect, especially given how high the stakes can be for your children’s wellbeing and your relationship with them. For this reason, it is important to have the very best legal advice and support.
If you need to make a court application with respect to your children, our solicitors can support you through the entire process. We can assist with preparing your application and putting together your case for any court hearings that take place. Our child solicitors will also make sure you have the very best representation for hearings as required.
Dealing with one-off issues through negotiation and Specific Issue Orders
Over time, it is common for issues to arise related to a child’s upbringing that were not anticipated when the parents separated. This could involve issues such as where a child goes to school, religious instruction or any other aspect of their upbringing. These issues can often become quite contentious, especially where both parents have strong feelings about a particular issue, meaning expert intervention is needed to find a positive way forward.
Our solicitors for children can step in to help resolve these matters. We can assist with negotiation, providing an outside perspective as well as expert guidance on your legal position. If an amicable agreement cannot be reached, then we can potentially assist with applying to a court for a Specific Issue Order to decide the matter.
Prohibited Steps Orders
A Prohibited Steps Order is a court order that prevents someone from taking a specific action with regard to a child e.g. taking them outside of the UK. They are often used in situations where one parent is concerned that the other might remove a child from the UK without agreement and then not return them.
Our UK child law experts can assist with applications for Prohibited Steps Orders to protect your child or children. We can also advise parents who have been made the subject of a Prohibited Steps order that they believe is unjustified.
Where necessary, we can work to get these Orders in place swiftly, helping to ensure that your child or children are safe.
Our UK child law fees
Our child solicitors are committed to complete transparency around our pricing, so we will be happy to provide a realistic quote upfront for our services. In some cases, we can offer child law advice and representation on a fixed fee basis while in other cases it may be more appropriate to charge an hourly rate.
To find out more about our fees, please get in touch using the contact details below.
Contact our child law solicitors in Reading
To get in contact with our solicitors for children in Reading, call us on 0118 957 3425 or use our contact form.
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