Will my children be spoken to in court proceedings for a child arrangements order?

It was historically the case that children would only be spoken to in court proceedings if the court ordered a ‘section 7 report’ whereby the children would be spoken to in the preparation of that report, or if the court appointment a guardian for the children. This was only in about half of cases.

However the introduction to Wolverhampton, Birmingham and the surrounding West Midlands area of the new “pathfinder” model for court proceedings involving children will mean that a significantly higher percentage of children will be spoken to, at the outset of proceedings with a child impact report being ordered in the majority of cases at the very beginning. It’s the expectation, rather than the exception, that children will now be spoken to in most cases  (unless they are really young for example).

Parents issuing applications under the pathfinder model should expect that their children will be spoken to and that their views will taken into account by the court, as it is their lives the order will be impacting.  That being said, the wishes and feelings of a child have never been and will not become determinative; the court is aware that sometimes the child can parrot the views of adults around them.  Whomever is preparing the child impact report (either the local authority or Cafcass) will assess the child’s views and report accordingly as to their professional views.

If you wish to discuss your situation or any issues raised in this blog our family solicitors are based in Wolverhampton, Cradley Heath and Sutton Coldfield and serve clients across the West Midlands.  For all new enquiries, please call 01902 328 355 or complete our online enquiry form and a member of our team will respond.