It is rare for parents to agree on things such as where and with whom their children will move in together. It is up to the courts to decide these cases. The courts can issue a child residence order. This will be to the advantage of a single parent so that their child will live with them. This does not affect the parental responsibility of the other parents.
When a child residence order is formed, the child will have to live with that parent. However, a contact order is normally placed in addition to a child residence order. A contact order determines the time of contact with the other parent. It is possible to have a Shared Residence Order instead, which allows the child to live with both parents by alternating the time spent with each. For example, one week with one parent, the next week with another.
Child residence orders do not only apply to direct parents. Applications may be made by grandparents or other relatives. However, this can only happen after parental responsibility court permission is not granted to grandparents at the birth of the child, whereas the parents of the child if they are married.
In most cases, a child will have a preference as to which parent they will live with. The child’s wishes are taken into consideration when the courts decide who the child will reside with, especially if the child is old enough to understand the situation around them. However, these wishes will not be the deciding factor, as it is up to the court and not the child to have the final say on what is best for the child’s long-term well-being. This makes the whole process very difficult when the child has become estranged from a parent.
What is child alienation?
At the end of a divorce, the divorced couple has hostile feelings towards each other. Guilt for simple things can lead to negativity instead of remembering the good times and the times when the marriage started. These kinds of feelings towards each other will eventually affect the well-being of the children involved if they start to rub off on them.
The vast majority of the time, these kinds of hostile attitudes from one parent can lead to one parent turning their child against the other parent to gain an ally against them, or even the other parent’s family. This is a terrible situation for the estranged parent and the child. The absent parent is estranged and hates the child. The estranged parent will receive negativity and be blamed for the divorce, causing the child to hate them even more. This is known as parental alienation syndrome. It is very difficult to deal with, not to mention very harmful to the child involved. All children deserve two parental figures.
A parent who has a Child Rehabilitation Ordinance is responsible for the day-to-day decisions about the child’s upbringing. According to the current residence regulations, this will happen without any intervention from the other parent. The decisions will be about how the household will function or about the routine of the child’s daily life. If the other parent has parental responsibility, they have a say in the most important decisions in the child’s life. such as how they are raised, what school they go to, and what medical care they receive.
If the parents are willing to agree on a residence permit, there should be no residence permit. This is due to the “no warrant” sections in the Children’s Act, which clearly state that no warrant will be issued in respect of a child unless it is essential to improve a child’s well-being in matters such as residence and contact with both parents.