Parenting Arrangements and Child Orders
When you end your relationship and separate from your spouse or de facto partner, it is essential that proper arrangements are made for your dependent children. If you have children under the age of 18, a court can only grant a divorce if it is satisfied that proper arrangements have been made for them.
Getting Started
The first step for any parent or guardian when commencing separation and divorce proceedings is to make a genuine effort to resolve any property and child custody or support disputes. This must at least be attempted before any application to a court for a parenting order will be accepted and can be done through family dispute resolution (FDR) services.
Resolving disputes
There are three basic approaches available to parent when resolving disputes.
Working arrangements out privately
Being able to communicate and cooperate effectively in private is the most ideal approach for resolving disputes. The separated parents or guardians will in all probability, be sharing the responsibility of caring for their children for many years, and the ability to do this effectively without external intervention will almost always result in better outcomes for the children.
Using mediators and other professionals to assist
When private negotiations fail or are unsuitable, mediators can be brought into assist. The advantage of a mediator is that parents still retain control over any decisions made and the process tends to be less costly and more flexible than court proceeding. Mediators are an objective external resource employed to help separated parents reach agreement about parenting, property and other matters. Mediation is basically a form of professionally assisted negotiation. In other words this is the middle ground between Private arrangements and court.
Contested court proceedings
The Family Law Act encourages separated parents to develop their own parenting arrangements and to “use the legal system as a last resort rather than a first resort” (section 63B). Even when legal proceedings have already commenced, parents are still encouraged to explore mediation or privately made arrangements.
However, for cases that are complex in nature or involve other issues such as domestic violence or child abuse, court proceedings are often the only real option. The court can also assist with other matters such as consent orders and urgent applications.
What is a parenting order?
When the court determines what arrangement is best for the child, it will make orders that must be followed by each person affected by the order. These are called parenting orders. Grandparents or any other person concerned for the welfare of a child can also make an application for parenting orders.
The Court must regard the child’s best interests above all other considerations. They will generally determine this through considering the following:
- who a child will live with
- who the child will spend time with. This considers each parent and other people, such as grandparents
- the allocation of parental responsibility
- how the child will communicate with a parent they do not live with, or other people
- any other aspect of the care, welfare or development of the child.
Unless there are other circumstances such as domestic violence, the Court will commonly order parents to share the parental responsibility equally. When there are other circumstances, the Courts can award one parent sole parental responsibility for the children. This means only that particular parent can make decisions regarding the children under the order.
For advice to fit your situation, please contact us. We can guide you through the process and make it as painless as possible.
