Social Services have a worrying number of inquiries about parents who collect a child for contact, but who later then refuse to return the child to the other parent. This can be a very distressing time, and often means parents can struggle to find support from public services like the police or children’s services, mainly because they are unable to assist if the other parent holds parental responsibility for the child.
We can help parents who find themselves in this emotional and difficult situation and can assist you in returning the child back to your care.
How We May Be Able To Help
If the other parent refuses to return your child to you, then with our help there are other steps that can be taken to assist in getting your child back to you.
We will take your instructions to better understand why the other parent has acted this way, and can then help negotiate an agreement for the child to be returned.
If the other parent becomes too disagreeable or is unwilling to co-operate, we can send a warning letter to the other parent to warn them that, if the child is not returned, we will advise you to issue court proceedings. If this does not persuade them to co-operate, we can advise you on obtaining an appropriate Court Order.
Specific Issue Order
A Specific Issue Order can raise a specific question about your child’s upbringing. In this case, the specific issue would be to return the child to your care as soon as possible.
Prohibited Steps Order
A Prohibited Steps Order can stop the other parent making decisions about your child’s upbringing, including stopping them removing the child from your care. This will prevent the other parent from repeating their actions and ensure you feel safe when your child contacts the other parent again.
Child Arrangements Order(s)
In some cases, this may not be the first incident or concern you have had regarding the other parent having contact with the child, in this case, you may benefit from a Child Arrangements Order. These Orders can determine who a child lives with, who they spend time with, and how often they spend time with each parent. These orders replace current Resident Orders and Contact Orders, and any parents with these agreements in place do not need to re-apply.
Find out more
There are a range of options, and our solicitors can help you to agree suitable arrangements.
If you need some preliminary advice on agreeing arrangements for your children, please contact Sarah Johnson in the Family Law team on 01782 577000 or email sarah.johnson@myerssolicitors.co.uk.
