Covid-19 and Child Arrangements

As a consequence of so many anticipated changes in the coming weeks and months, it is important for parents to consider the impact, if any, on Child Arrangements Orders and any informal arrangements.  This is not only due to the likely extended school closures, but also the possibility of self-isolation amongst parents or other people living in the household.

With the virus anticipated to last some months, it is clear that both parents will need to work together to help with child care and to ensure the children still see both parents.

Whilst important that parents keep the government guidance under review, the starting point is that all orders must still be complied with and that Covid-19 should not be used as an excuse to prevent one parent from seeing their children, nor for Orders to be breached, unless necessary.

Several questions which have arisen include:

• What happens for the school closures outside of the scheduled Easter Holidays and does that time become part of the ‘holiday’ element of the order or the ‘term time’ plans.
• Where should the child stay if there are elderly or high risk adults within one home, but not the other, and would a change be justified to protect those people?
• What if one parent is self-isolating and the child is due to spend time with the other parent under a court order?

Every case is going to need to be assessed on its own individual circumstances, but the overriding principle will always be to make decisions which are in the best interests of the children, whilst being able to comply with Court Orders as much as possible. If there is any deviation from an Order, which is not by consent, the other parent will need to be able to clearly justify and evidence such actions to the court, as it will not automatically be accepted by the courts and will still be a breach of court order, with potential sanctions. Of course, necessary cases will arise and parents will need to keep clear and open communications, using other forms of contact for the duration needed, including phone and video calls.  Such methods can also be used for wider families, where needed. 

Whilst the Courts intend to remain open, it is inevitably going to be under a large amount of strain, so agreements between parents by consent are most advised at this stage and which will not be considered a breach of Order. However, unilateral decisions and breaches or orders could be considered very differently, with applications still being made for enforcement or variations of orders, both short and long term as a consequence of such conduct.

Our experts are closely monitoring the government and court guidance and are working to help families reach sensible arrangements. If you are in a similar position, please contact us.