Can a child be a party in a contact case
There have been a number of steps taken to encourage parents to resolve disputes regarding children out of court. As the carrot, the Ministry of Justice has introduced a voucher scheme, which can give parents approximately £500 towards the costs of mediation. The stick is a proposal to consider awarding legal costs against a parent who is thought to be abusing the Court system. It is unusual at present for one parent to be ordered to pay the costs of the other, so this would be a radical step. It will increase pressure on parents at a time when they are already managing a lot of stress.
My professional experience of the last 25 or so years is that parents almost never go to Court regarding their children unless they have tried every other way of settling disagreements first. Parents tend to go to Court as a last resort only.
If you do have a dispute regarding your child, it is always a good idea to get some legal advice early on to guide your discussions. If you are not able to settle it directly with the other parent, think about using mediation to try to reach some agreement or at least steps towards this. I am a family solicitor and a mediator, and I have found that mediation is often most effective when parents have had some legal advice too.
However, you cannot always find a compromise, or reach agreement. This is not possible if one parent is plainly unreasonable, or maybe does not have the children’s best interests at heart or is not capable of understanding the children’s best interests for a variety of reasons. These are the cases where parents end up going to court.
Some disputes are so entrenched, complex or intractable, or where all contact is stopped that the court takes the step of giving the child a lawyer. This includes where there is an irrational or implacable hostility towards contact or if the child is actually suffering abuse, or harm because of a dispute. This is a serious step and only taken in exceptional cases. A solicitor is appointed by the court for the child, under Legal Aid. The solicitor works alongside an appropriately qualified social worker also appointed by the court. Together they act for the child and advise the court. They present a proposal of what they consider to be in the child’s best interest.
It seems that there is likely to be growing pressure on parents to try to resolve disputes out of the Court, including through mediation. If you are in a position where you do have a dispute with the other parent, it is an important first step to get some legal advice. This should give you more confidence and clarity about your own position, including if you would be seen to be reasonable if the dispute did end up in court. This is very helpful because it will guide you in terms of where you should be considering compromising. This can act as a reality check and help limit conflict.
If you have any questions about this article or any of my other articles please feel free to email me on [email protected].
