What is a “lives with” child arrangements order?

December 8, 2021

A child arrangements order (“CAO”) is a court order either setting out the arrangements for your child which have been agreed between the parties by consent and later approved by a judge or magistrates, or arrangements for your child which have been decided by a judge or three magistrates.

A CAO usually sets out who your child with live with and if this is not both parents, how often and how they will spend time with the other parent, such as in person or via telephone calls and video calls.

The benefit of being named in the CAO as the parent who your child lives with is that you have the right to take your child abroad for up to one month without the consent of the other parent or the court’s permission. If there is a CAO in place and you are not named as a parent your child lives with, you will not have this right. If you want to take your child abroad, you will have to have the agreement of the other parent to do this. It is sensible to have this in writing in case you need to rely on it at any point, such as at the airport. If the other parent does not agree, you can apply to the court for a specific issue order to take the child abroad. This means you will need to explain to the court why it is in your child’s best interests to go abroad with you and the court will make a decision about whether to agree to this, having heard the other parent’s views on this suggestion.

If you are named in the CAO as the parent your child lives with and want to take them abroad for longer than one month, you will also have to have the agreement of the other parent to do this, or if they do not agree, apply to the court for a specific issue order.

If you are not named in the CAO as a parent your child lives with and you take them abroad without the agreement of the other parent, this would be considered to be a wrongful removal and the parent could report you to the police and may have to apply to the court for the return of your child which is an expensive, stressful, and time consuming process.

Wallace Robinson & Morgan Limited are based in Solihull and Dorridge and serve clients across Birmingham and the West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and further afield. Our team of Family Lawyers are happy to help if you would like advice about your rights and agreeing the arrangements for your children.

If you would like to discuss your matter, please call 0121 705 7571 and ask to speak to a member of the Family law team or email us at family@wallacerobinson.co.uk.

This article is for general information purposes only. It does not constitute technical, financial, legal advice or any other type of professional advice and is no substitute for specific advice based on your individual circumstances. We do not accept responsibility or liability for any actions taken based on the information in this article. For more information, please click here.