Arrangements for Children

Family issues can be very hard and confusing for children to cope with. Whether your relationship has broken down or you are having a co-parenting dispute with an ex-partner, you need advice from lawyers who have experience working with parents and children.

Devonalds Solicitors has been recognised by The Law Society for providing the highest standard of legal advice in relation to Children Law. We hold the Law Society’s accreditation for providing this specialist and emotive service.  

Matters involving children can be extremely distressing and have a massive impact on your life. Rest assured, we will do all that we can to ensure that our lawyers will provide as smooth and clear a process as possible, always acting in the best interests of the child.

Book your 1-hour fixed fee consultation with our children law solicitors in Bridgend and Rhondda Cynon Taff

We can offer you a 1-hour fixed fee consultation to talk about your situation, how you feel things are affecting your children, and how we can help. At this meeting, we will outline your basic options so you have an idea of what you can do to resolve the issue and discuss our costs for helping you.

After this meeting, you’ll have a chance to decide whether you want to continue working with us – there’s no obligation.

We have offices across Rhondda Cynon Taff in Bridgend, Pontypridd, Talbot Green, Tonypandy, Treorchy and Tylorstown, where you can come and meet us to discuss your matter. We’re also happy to speak to you in any way convenient to you, including using video link software.

So, if you need legal advice about a family issue involving children, get in touch with us today for compassionate and cost-effective advice for you and your family.

Read more about our child law services here.

Why choose Devonalds for children law advice?

Relationship breakdown is hard for every member of the family, but it hits children in a particularly stressful way.

Very young children may not have the ability to understand what divorce or civil partnership dissolution means, but they certainly understand the anger, sadness and other intense emotions often tied up in the process.

Older children may understand what is happening but will likely find it harder than adults to process and accept.

Often, children feel like they have no control when their parents break up. As parents, it’s important to find a way through your legal problems in a way that puts the children first.

At Devonalds, we are committed to helping families find practical solutions to their problems. We take a child-centred approach and are here to support you during these difficult times. We know your priority is the safety and happiness of your children. Our role is to help you achieve the best possible outcome for them.

We have over 30 years of experience of representing children at court and are accredited by the Law Society in Children Law. We are also members of Resolution and have been associated with the Association of Lawyers for Children, the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (CoramBAAF) and the Grandparents Association as part of our expert Childcare team.

Watch the video below for more about how our children law solicitors can support you.

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How can our specialist children lawyers help?

Child arrangements after divorce, dissolution and separation

Deciding where children should live and how much time they should spend with their parents after relationship breakdown and separation often causes rifts between parents.

We can help you approach the situation as positively as possible. We can negotiate with your ex-partner for you and put your co-parenting agreement in writing. If you are finding it hard to come to an agreement, we can help you access alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation.

Co-parenting decisions

It is common for separated parents to have different opinions on how their children should be brought up. Typical disagreements include:

• Where the children should go to school
• What types of medical treatment the children should receive, such as vaccinations
• Whether the children should have a religious upbringing

We can help you sort out these issues after divorce, dissolution or separation as amicably as possible. In most cases, we are able to help our clients make a successful co-parenting plan to set out their agreement about such issues in writing.

Parental responsibility

Parental responsibility covers your legal rights and duties to raise your children. Only a child’s birth mother automatically gets parental responsibility. Their father or second parent usually acquires it, but it is important to make sure you have it, especially if you are not in a relationship with your child’s mother or your name isn’t on the birth certificate.

We can help with parental responsibility matters, including helping you acquire it to make sure you can play a strong role in your child’s life.

Change of name

If you want to change your child’s name after divorce, dissolution or separation, we can provide advice about the steps you need to take, including obtaining consent from your child’s other parent and anyone else with parental responsibility and completing the change of name deed.

Taking children out of the country

The consent of both parents and anyone else with parental responsibility is usually needed before one parent can take their child out of the country for a long holiday or to live permanently.

We can provide advice about taking your child abroad. We can also help you if you need to stop your ex-partner from taking your child abroad.

Grandparents’ rights

We can advise grandparents about their rights to see their grandchildren, for example, if the parents are preventing contact. Legally, grandparents do not have an automatic right to see their grandchildren, but we are often able to help grandparents negotiate a suitable arrangement with the parents.

Book your 1-hour fixed fee consultation with our children law solicitors in Bridgend and Rhondda Cynon Taff

We can offer you a 1-hour fixed fee consultation to talk about your situation, how you feel things are affecting your children, and how we can help. At this meeting, we will outline your basic options so you have an idea of what you can do to resolve the issue and discuss our costs for helping you.

After this meeting, you’ll have a chance to decide whether you want to continue working with us – there’s no obligation.

We have offices across Rhondda Cynon Taff in Bridgend, Pontypridd, Talbot Green, Tonypandy, Treorchy and Tylorstown, where you can come and meet us to discuss your matter. We’re also happy to speak to you in any way convenient to you, including using video link software.

So, if you need legal advice about a family issue involving children, get in touch with us today for compassionate and cost-effective advice for you and your family.