Divorce and child arrangements
What is a typical set of arrangements for a child when their parents divorce or separate?
It is presumed (unless the contrary is shown) that it is best for the child for both parents to continue to be involved in their life. Beyond this, there is no 'typical set' way to handle divorce and child arrangements.
It is for the parents to ideally agree what arrangement would work best for their children, and for them (see Do I have to go to court to decide where my children will live after divorce or separation).
If it needs to be decided by the court or an arbitrator, the decision will be made depending on what the judge or arbitrator considers is in the best interests of the child (see How does a court decide living arrangements for children after divorce or separation?).
The focus will very much be on the particular child, and what routine is both best and manageable for them. There will be a great deal of focus on practical considerations, i.e. what is a child's routine throughout the week and how well can that mesh, practically, with each parent's commitments? It may be, for example, that one or both parents are in the (not unusual) position of balancing family life and evening work commitments and that they can be home on certain evenings and not others, or that one or both parents sometimes travel for work.
The court will work 'bottom up' from the various family members' schedules and will resist attempts to work 'top down' from general labels which a parent might be tempted to apply to the day-to-day care arrangements such as 'primary carer' or from a parent's desire to parent a child for a given percentage of the time. There are therefore as many possible sets of arrangements for a child after their parents divorce as there are children and family routines.
In these FAQs and answers, we use 'England' as a shorthand for 'England and Wales' because England and Wales share a single legal system. Scotland, meanwhile, is a different legal system and has different rules for many aspects of family law.
We have also chosen to talk about 'marriages' most of the time (which may be between either an opposite or same-sex couple). Unless we say otherwise, what we have said is also true of civil partnerships (which may also be between an opposite or same-sex couple).
These FAQs (and our website more generally) contain general information based on English law as it stands at the date of publication, but they do not constitute legal advice, nor are they tailored to any couple or family's particular circumstances. Whilst we endeavour to ensure it is accurate and up to date, website users should seek appropriate legal advice before taking or refraining from any action based on the content of the website. We would, of course, be willing to assist with this, and you can contact us here.
Any pricing information is similarly general. Our clients' relationship with us is governed by the terms of the engagement letter sent to them at the beginning of their instruction.
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