Practical, compassionate advice to help you make arrangements that protect your children’s wellbeing and provide greater certainty for your family.

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When parents separate, deciding where children will live, how much time they will spend with each parent and how important decisions about their upbringing will be made can be one of the most difficult parts of the process.

Our Family Law solicitors advise parents and other family members on arrangements for children following separation and on disputes about specific aspects of a child’s upbringing. We can help you understand your legal position, explore ways of reaching an agreement and ensure that any arrangements properly consider your child’s needs and welfare.

Child Arrangements Legal Services

We advise on a wide range of issues concerning children following separation or family breakdown.

Our services include:

Where children will live
Access agreements
School holidays and special occasions
Child Arrangements Orders
Specific Issues Orders
Prohibited Steps Orders
Parental responsibility
Relocation within the UK
International relocation
Taking children abroad
Changing existing arrangements
Enforcing Child Arrangements Orders
Considerations for grandparents and wider family
Urgent applications

Why Instruct DTM Legal?

Disagreements concerning children can be emotionally difficult, particularly when they arise at the same time as the breakdown of a relationship. Our Family Law solicitors provide clear and practical advice, helping you separate the legal issues from the wider conflict and focus on arrangements that work for your child and your family.

We take the time to understand your circumstances and what you want to achieve. Every family is different, and arrangements that work well for one child may not be appropriate for another. Our advice takes account of the child’s age and needs, existing relationships, practical considerations and any concerns about their welfare.

Where possible, we will help you explore constructive ways of reaching agreement without court proceedings.

Should an agreement not be possible or court intervention is necessary, we provide clear strategic advice and representation throughout the process. We will help you understand what the court will consider, prepare your case and ensure that your child’s welfare remains central to the approach taken.

We provide:

Advice tailored to your child and family circumstances
A practical approach focused on your child’s welfare
Support negotiating arrangements without court proceedings
Guidance on mediation and other dispute resolution options
Advice on Child Arrangements, Specific Issue and Prohibited Steps Orders
Support with parental responsibility and relocation disputes
Strategic representation in Family Court proceedings
Advice on varying or enforcing existing arrangements
Support focused on reducing unnecessary conflict wherever possible

Get in Touch

If you are separating and need to agree arrangements for your children, or an existing arrangement is no longer working, obtaining advice early can help you understand your position and the options available.

Our Family Law solicitors can help you negotiate practical arrangements, advise on mediation and other alternatives to court and, where necessary, prepare and conduct Family Court proceedings on your behalf.

To discuss your requirements, contact us by emailing employment@dtmlegal.com or calling 01244 354 800 / 0151 321 0000.

Key Contact

Compliance Officer, Property

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Key Considerations When Discussing Child Arrangements With a Solicitor

Read our Key Considerations guide to understand some of the points a solicitor may wish to discuss when responding to your enquiry. It can help you prepare the relevant information and make your initial conversation more productive.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Commonly asked questions regarding child arrangements.

Not necessarily. If both parents can agree where their children will live and how they will spend time with each parent, arrangements can be made without going to court. Parents may agree matters themselves or use negotiation, mediation or another form of dispute resolution to help reach an agreement.

Where agreement cannot be reached, a court application may be necessary. In some circumstances, parents who have reached agreement may also wish to consider whether the arrangements should be formalised through a consent order.

A Child Arrangements Order is a court order which can determine where a child will live, who they will spend time with and whether other forms of contact should take place, such as telephone or video contact.

The precise terms will depend on the child and family circumstances. An order can provide greater certainty where parents have been unable to agree arrangements themselves.

A Specific Issue Order asks the Family Court to decide a particular question relating to a child’s upbringing. This might concern matters such as education, medical treatment, religion, holidays or relocation.

A Prohibited Steps Order can prevent a parent or another person from taking a particular step in relation to a child without the court’s permission. Government guidance gives taking a child out of the country as one example of circumstances in which such an order may be relevant.

We can advise which type of application, if any, is appropriate to the issue you are facing.

In most cases, someone making an application concerning child arrangements will need to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) before applying to court. A MIAM provides information about mediation and other ways of resolving the dispute without court proceedings.

There are exemptions, including certain cases involving domestic abuse, child protection concerns and urgent applications. We can advise whether the MIAM requirement applies to your circumstances.

The timescale will depend on the circumstances, the complexity of the dispute, whether safeguarding concerns need to be investigated and whether agreement can be reached during the proceedings.

Current government guidance states that it usually takes around 10 months to obtain a court order, although individual cases may be shorter or considerably longer.

Where proceedings continue beyond the first hearing, the court may ask Cafcass to carry out a more detailed assessment and prepare a Section 7 report addressing the child’s welfare and best interests, which can add further stages to the process.

See what our customers have to say about their experience

5/5 350+Reviews

28/08/2026

Excellent consultation giving clarity to a complex situation concerning my abusive (unmarried) ex, our property and the approach to separating in a fair and orderly manner.

14/05/2026

From start to finish speaking with Colette and Sam has been a wonderful experience. Great advise. Direct and honest, however with a good balance of compassion. I threw many curve balls and updates that were managed nicely with the right level of advice. What was a dire position has helped me steer to a great result. The nice little touches, and help have turned my life from what looked like a disaster l to a more positive future. Thanks so much guys!!

10/03/2026

Colette has been an amazing solicitor. she has given me solid legal advice quickly when i needed it. she’s also very caring & compassionate. she has seen me through some really difficult times in my case.. amazing solicitor and person would highly recommend her for family law cases