Children in Law - The web site of Jacqui Gilliatt
Alcohol Concern is the national agency on alcohol abuse. Their website publishes a number of leaflets and fact sheets and there is a directory of all local drug & alcohol services in the UK searchable by area. The directory also lists residential support providers. Some of the providers in the list are private organisations as…
DetailsSorry I have been gone …and not been able to devote as much time to this blog as I would like. But I am back again & vowing not to neglect you. In the course of the last few weeks I have been particularly amazed by the loveliness of my clients. This includes family members,…
DetailsThe Missouri Divorce & Family Law Blog has 3 interesting posts on A Dozen Ways Children of Divorce Get Caught in Their Parents’ Conflict contributed by James Roberts, a Missouri social worker. I recognise each and every one of them, with one or two cases of mine sadly featuring practically all of them. I was…
DetailsResolution has published a great guide about helping parents who are separating to deal with issues about children which is availalbe as a pdf download here .
DetailsA mother wrote to me recently setting out a history of problems with the father of her child including that he has a major mental illness, cannot organise himself financially so that he often runs out of food or basics like electricity and she is always having to bail him out. To add insult to…
DetailsA questioner asks me whether I have experience of fathers getting anything like 50/50of parenting time. The short answer is yes, but this, of course, does not do justice to the question. Over 15 years in practice, I must have seen just about every permutation of time division between separated parents from zero to 90%…
DetailsI am a stepfather. I have been living with a woman who has 3 children for about 4 years. I have 2 children of my own who also live with us. We are about to get married. Will this give me parental responsibility for my partner’s children? Do I need parental responsibility? Getting married to…
DetailsThe Independent reports on a father who has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his 4 year old son. He also attempted to murder his 14 year old daughter, seemingly in an act of revenge against his wife who he had discovered was having an affair. Most parents don’t take things…
DetailsIt is a cliche of legal practice that there is nothing a lawyer likes more than a client who says that it’s not the money, it’s the principle (it’s always the money). That client will not think straight about a court case and will fight to the bitter end whatever it costs. Most of the…
DetailsOther agencies such as doctors and teachers are not always familiar with the rights of a non-resident parent. They may know they have legal responsibilities to share information but may have practical constraints. Schools, for example, may have a duty to inform parents (whether or not with parental responsibility) but they tend to take the…
DetailsSome thoughts and a brief answer – maybe not a lot. You already have the right to apply for permission to make section 8 applications ie for contact, residence, specific issue orders or prohibited steps orders. You can apply in care proceedings to become a party, and this is almost never refused. The court is…
DetailsListed below are the main orders that the court can make about children in public law cases (cases involving social services), with a brief explanation & links to some other websites and articles, and then gradually add posts dealing with each of the orders and link them from this post. Orders in private law cases…
DetailsThe Guardian published an interesting story about a charity called Mosac which supports non-abusing parents and carers of children who have been sexually abused. Although the charity is based in Blackpool (which curiously has the highest rate of children on the Child Protection Register under the category of sexual abuse) it has a national helpline…
DetailsIn this post I will list the main orders that the court can make about children in private law cases (cases between family members as opposed to cases involving social services), with a brief explanation & links to some other websites and articles, and then gradually add posts dealing with each of the orders and…
DetailsThe real point to consider is – will it really make a difference on a day-to-day basis? Will it cause difficulties that you either have to put up with anyway or ought to? Non-resident parents have a lot of separate rights, for example, under the Human Rights Act, by their ability to make an application…
DetailsMothers are often very anxious about what it means for a father to have parental responsibility. Just to give a few examples: • Will the father interfere with her day-to-day life looking after the child by stopping me from dressing the child the way I want or feeding the child in a particular way?• Will…
DetailsI am reeling with shock at the conduct of Bruce Hyman who has been sent to prison for twelve months for planting a fake judgment on his opponent father in a contact case. A vox pop of my colleagues suggests that he got off quite likely as most of us would have given him two…
DetailsI have been reading with growing alarm about the case of Fran Lyons and in the press (see this Daily Mail article . I have to say I rarely like to get drawn into this sort of debate as usually you can only hear one half of the story. But the half that I have heard…
DetailsThis question is best answered by giving a few example of situations in which parents trying to share parental responsibility do not agree about the way a child should be brought up.In most cases, the court can be asked to make a decision when parents cannot agree. In most cases, the court will give very…
DetailsNever turn up at the arranged time for contact Never bring your child back on time from contact Refuse to agree a regular contact regime because you just want contact whenever you want contact Give your child a drastic haircut or dye the child’s hair a funny colour without telling them Get the child’s ears…
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