Contact order meaning

Procedural Guide This Procedural Guide explains the process for seeking an enforcement order under the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) to secure compliance with a child arrangements order (CAO). Such an order may require the respondent to complete unpaid work. It sets out details of the following: Who can apply Pre-action requirements Criminal standard of proof Orders the court may make Restrictions on making an enforcement order The procedure applies where a CAO has a warning notice properly attached and it is alleged the order has been breached, making enforcement necessary. Enforcing contact provisions can be difficult where the parent with whom the child lives is opposed to contact. Under ChA 1989 the court has extended powers to enforce all provisions of CAOs, not just those about contact but also those concerning a child’s living arrangements...

Procedural Guide: Applications for Child Arrangements Orders under section 8 Children Act 1989 This Procedural Guide outlines the procedural steps for applying under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) for a child arrangements order (CAO). It covers eligibility to apply, pre-action obligations including attendance at a mediation information and assessment meeting (MIAM), the court’s guiding principles, and provisions for non-court dispute resolution (NCDR). It also addresses service requirements and the criteria for without notice (ex parte) applications. Allocation, gatekeeping and safeguarding processes are explained, together with what may occur at the first hearing dispute resolution appointment (FHDRA) and the dispute resolution appointment (DRA), as well as the approach to fact-finding hearings, vulnerable witnesses and the final hearing. A CAO is one of the orders available to the court under ChA 1989, s 8. It is an order concerning: with whom a child is to live, spend time or otherwise have contact, and when a child is to live, spend time or...

In this issue: Court of Protection UK taxes for Private Client HMRC Manuals updates Family businesses and ownership structures Insolvency—Private Client Digital assets and cryptoassets Contentious trusts and estates Pensions, insurance and tax-efficient investments Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Question of the week Additional Private Client updates Daily and weekly news alerts LexTalk®Private Client: a Lexis®PSL community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q&As Useful information Court of Protection Court of Protection proposes travel guidance for cases with a risk of future forced marriage (Luton Borough Council v G) The Court of Protection sanctioned a six-month interim forced marriage protection order (FMPO) concerning AG and exercised the inherent jurisdiction to govern AG’s contact with her parents. This followed material showing parental control and coercion, the prospect of AG travelling abroad for ‘a wedding’, and indications that, if parental contact matched her...

In this issue: Copyright & associated rights Trade marks/passing off Patents General IP LexTalk®IP: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Copyright & associated rights IPO confirms approach for foreign artists’ public performance rights The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has released its response to an early‑2024 consultation on how best to ensure overseas performers and producers receive the public performance rights (PPR) payments due when their sound recordings are broadcast or played in public in the UK. Historically, UK law’s treatment of this right did not fully mirror the nation’s international commitments. After the consultation and engagement with industry stakeholders, the government has chosen Option 0A. Under this approach, targeted adjustments will be made to the criteria for foreign performers’ PPR eligibility, extending PPR to foreign performers where the producer of the recording of their performance is a UK national or...

In this issue: Copyright & associated rights Designs Trade marks/passing off Patents Geographical indications IP and technology Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Copyright & associated rights Law360 reports that Sony Music has again failed to shut down a copyright claim in England relating to royalties from Jimi Hendrix’s band. A judge in London concluded the bandmates’ estates present an arguable case concerning IP rights tied to music streaming platforms. See: Sony loses bid to stop Hendrix Bandmates' Copyright Trial. Copyright and Performances (Application to Other Countries) (Amendment) Order 2024 SI 2024/193: This instrument widens eligibility for specified rights under UK copyright law to certain non-UK nationals by lifting some of the current limitations on extending those rights abroad. The Order takes effect on the date the CPTPP becomes operative for the UK. See: LNB News 28/02/2024 29...

This Practice Note summarises the court’s powers when making a special guardianship order (SGO), including decisions about a child’s surname and any removal from the jurisdiction. It also sets out what becomes of existing orders once an SGO is made and the need to consider whether to make a child arrangements order with contact provisions. Existing orders Making an SGO does not, by itself, end any order made under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) (an s 8 order). Before granting an SGO, the court must specifically consider whether any existing s 8 order should be varied or discharged. The governing test is whether it is in the child’s best interests for an existing order to remain operative. If a CAO with contact provisions stays in force and there is an enforcement order, the court must decide whether that enforcement order should be revoked. Where an activity direction exists, the court must also consider whether it ought to be...

Facts Mr Smith, aged 75, was recently bereaved after a 40-year marriage, having been diagnosed with dementia shortly before his wife passed away. He had already put in place a Lasting Power of Attorney naming his children and made a Will in their favour. He began spending time with his carer, Ms James, aged 34, who has progressively cut him off from relatives and friends. He often says he is busy and, when his family do see him, he appears not to be looking after himself or his home. His relatives are worried about the influence Ms James exerts, though they accept he has been lonely. Their concern heightened when, last week, Ms James declared they were going to marry, yet Mr Smith seems blissfully unaware of any such plan. What action can Mr Smith’s family take to keep him safe? Mental capacity They should first assess whether Mr Smith retains decision- and time-specific mental capacity, explain the situation to him, and seek his agreement to...

ARCHIVED: This tracker is archived and no longer updated. For an overview of Court of Protection cases from 2025 onwards, see: Court of Protection—table of cases. P, Re (Property & Affairs Deputyship: Jurisdiction) [2024] EWCOP 77 (T2) Court of Protection determines it has jurisdiction to consider whether P’s mother should continue as property and affairs deputy The proceedings related to P, an adult who sustained a brain injury in an accident and had a substantial personal injury claim. His mother had been appointed by the Court of Protection as his property and affairs deputy, and the present decision addressed an application seeking to revoke that appointment. The litigation had been protracted. Earlier, the court permitted ‘closed material’ to be withheld from P’s parents to facilitate capacity assessments; for a summary of that ruling, see here. Despite that step, neither the Official Solicitor nor the court gained clarity about P’s condition or even his location. It was reported that P was now residing in Italy. HHJ Burrows concluded that...

1 Introduction This letter instructs you to act as the single joint expert in financial remedy proceedings arising from divorce proceedings between [ client’s full name ] and [ spouse’s full name ]. You are jointly instructed by [ lead firm preparing letter ] for [ client’s full name ] and by [ name and address of spouse’s solicitors ], [ telephone number and email of spouse’s solicitors ] on behalf of [ spouse’s full name ], on the basis that your expert opinion will remain independent of both parties. At the First Appointment on [ date of first appointment ], District Judge [ name ], sitting at the Family Court at [ location ], made the following order: [ insert exact wording from order ]. The scope of your instructions is confirmed in the order dated [ date of first appointment order ] and in this letter. 2 Arrangements for preparing the report Should you need to discuss the report, whether on a preliminary basis or...

STOP PRESS: On 19 June 2025, the Data (Use and Access) Bill secured Royal Assent, transforming into the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA 2025), with partial commencement on that very same day. A number of DUAA 2025 provisions, covering areas like handling data subject access requests and granting powers to make additional regulations, took effect immediately on 19 June 2025. Other related provisions, relating to Information Commissioner notices and certain aspects of law enforcement processing, commenced on 19 August 2025 (being two months from the date of Royal Assent). The majority of DUAA 2025’s measures still require further regulations, in the form of statutory instruments, to be made in order to bring them fully into force. Parts 5 and 6 of DUAA 2025 serve to amend several facets of data protection and ePrivacy law in the UK, including the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, SI...

This note offers general guidance for grandparents on applying for a child arrangements order that sets out contact with grandchildren. Your family solicitor can give advice specific to your situation. What can I do if I am not allowed to spend time with my grandchildren? If the parents’ relationship breaks down, it is hoped arrangements can still be agreed so the children keep spending time with their grandparents. In such circumstances, grandparents often play a vital part in their grandchildren’s lives. Sometimes issues can be settled through mediation or other out-of-court resolution. Mediation may avoid costly legal proceedings, which can be very stressful. Before applying for an order to spend time with your grandchildren (a child arrangements order, or CAO), the rules require you to attend a meeting with a mediator to assess whether mediation is suitable instead of court. This is called a mediation information and assessment meeting (a MIAM)...

When a baby is born, the birth must be registered, and the surname entered at that time is intended to be the name by which the child is known. If a parent later wishes to change the child’s surname, they should first consult any other person who holds parental responsibility before any step is taken. This applies irrespective of the existence of a child arrangements order, and regardless of whether that person has contact with the child (Re PC (Change of Surname)). Where there is disagreement, the matter must be placed before the court for a determination. A contested change of surname must not be made unilaterally (Dawson v Wearmouth). Altering a name is a significant matter and should not be approached lightly. In deciding whether to grant leave, the court is guided by the welfare principle in section 1(1) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989), and will act accordingly...

Section 12(2A) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) Inserted by paragraph 21(4) of Schedule 2, Part 1 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA 2014), Section 12(2A) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) came into force on 22 April 2014. This statutory amendment to ChA 1989, s 12 expressly empowers the court to confer parental responsibility on an individual who is neither a parent nor a guardian of the child, but who is identified in a relevant child arrangements order (CAO) as a person with whom the child spends time or otherwise has contact. Any parental responsibility granted under ChA 1989, s 12(2A) endures only for as long as the corresponding CAO currently remains operative. Although the provision has been operative for more than two years, there seem to be no reported cases that consider ChA 1989, s 12(2A)...

If the court issues a child arrangements order under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) directing that a child is to reside with someone other than a parent or guardian, that individual acquires parental responsibility for the child for as long as the order is operative, insofar as it provides for the child to live with them (ChA 1989, s 12(2)). That individual continues to hold parental responsibility under that provision for as long as the provision requiring the child to live with them still remains effective...