Residence/contact

Parental Responsibility is the legal term which describes all the rights and responsibilities which a parent has for their child.

Residence

A residence order confirms where the child is to live. If a residence order is made in favour of one parent, this does not remove the parental responsibility of the other parent.

Contact order

Contact is the term used for the arrangements made to decide who a child is able to see and how often they should see them.

Prohibited steps/specific issues

There are occasions when parents are unable to decide a particular aspect of parenting e.g. which school a child should attend; whether they should undergo a particular medical operation; whether they should move abroad. In certain circumstances, a specific issue application can be made to the Court, for the Court to decide the issue. A prohibited steps order is appropriate for example to prevent a parent removing a child from this country.

How does the court decide such applications?

The outcome will be influenced by a variety of factors including the wishes and feelings of the child (dependent on age) and the impact upon the child of any change in circumstances. The Court's usual approach is that children thrive upon continuity, consistency, familiarity, and boundaries; and so there may need to be a good reason as to why a child's circumstances should be changed.

The Court will also look at how capable each of the parents are in meeting the children's needs and any risk or harm that the child may potentially suffer.