LEGAL EAGLE: A court will make a decision that is best for the children when couples separate

A court will make a decision that best meets a child’s physical and emotional needs when a couple separate.

Me and my wife have split, and we have children. Does that mean our children will automatically live with their mother on separation?

The answer to this is no; living arrangements of children, upon separation, should always be agreed between the parties. If agreement is not possible you can ask the court to determine such, and the court will look carefully at which parent is most suitable to meet the children’s physical and emotional needs.

For example, the work commitments of one parent may make it more practical for the other parent to have primary care of the children.

Even where your children may primarily live with their mother, you will retain ‘parental responsibility’, so long as you were married to their mother at the time of birth and you are named on the children’s birth certificate, and therefore you will still have a key role to play in your children’s life.

This means that even if your children spend more time with their mother, it will not mean she is more important in the eyes of the court or can make important decisions about the children independently from you.

The parent the court decides the children would live with depends on their best interests. This means that your children’s welfare is paramount, and so the court will take into account things including their wishes, their physical, emotional and educational needs, the likely effect on them of any change during this circumstance, their age, sex and any other background the court deems acceptable, any harm they have suffered or would be at risk of suffering, and how capable yourself and their mother is at meeting their needs.

The Court’s goal is for both parents to continue being involved in the lives of their children unless such involvement may subject the children to a risk of harm.

Ultimately, the decision will be down to the court, and whether the children are best suited to be placed with yourself or their mother.

Alternatively, the court may put forward a ‘shared care arrangement’ order which means the children could spend time between the two households. This could be an equal division of time, or not depending on the needs of the children.

We at Ben Hoare Bell LLP have the appropriate expertise in assisting in such matters. Please contact us on 0191 565 3112 or [email protected] for advice.