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The term parental responsibility is used a lot in family court. Parental responsibility is the legal term for the rights, duties, powers and responsibilities a parent has for their child. All birth mothers automatically have parental responsibility, as do fathers married to the mother at the time of birth or named on the birth certificate. It can also be granted to others—like step-parents or guardians—by agreement or through the courts. Having parental responsibility gives

A Section 7 report is a written assessment prepared for the family court to help decide what’s best for a child when parents can’t agree. It’s usually carried out by a Cafcass Officer (Cafcass is the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service). The report gets its name from Section 7 of the Children Act 1989, which allows the court to request a professional evaluation of your child’s needs and the family situation. A court might order a Section 7 report when: ·

It is very difficult to say how long it might take the court to resolve a private children dispute. This is because there are various hearings and reports that may or may not be needed. For example, you might want an Interim Hearing to discuss what contact should look like right now, before a final decision is made. You might need a Fact Finding Hearing so that the court can determine issues of fact before it decides on what the next steps should be. You might need Cafcass to

When a case about children is taken to the family court, the magistrates or judge have to make decisions about what to do in the best interests of your children. To do this, the court is required to consider the welfare checklist, which is set out at Section 1 of the Children Act 1989. The welfare checklist includes the following: The child’s wishes and feelings (considered in light of their age and understanding). · The court will consider the ascertainable wishes and