The Family Court without a Lawyer: A Handbook for Litigants in Person by Lucy Reed

Author:Lucy Reed
Format: epub

How cases about child arrangements tend to progress – what to expect

I’ve discussed above how difficult it is at the moment to describe the process for an application about child arrangements, but there are some useful things I can tell you about.

Sometimes when cases first come to court money is at the root of the dispute. Often the parent who is looking after the children may be unhappy that they are not receiving any financial help to look after the child. Although many parents often make a link between payment of maintenance and contact, the law sees them as totally separate and it is important to recognise this from the start. The court will not be interested in either of you saying ‘he can see the child if he pays some maintenance’ or ‘I’m not paying maintenance unless I see my child’. But if you are a parent seeking contact, common sense says that it will probably help to rebuild bridges if you either explain why you can’t pay maintenance, or pay at least some maintenance if you can. Likewise, if you are a parent caring for a child, common sense tells you that you are unlikely to improve your chances of getting some financial support from your ex if you simply stop contact – and the court won’t get involved in the child support issue because it is not allowed to deal with things that are the responsibility of the CMS. Don’t try and use the court process to air your grievances about money. Save your energy for sorting out the contact dispute.

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