Managing child contact arrangements after a divorce on the farm

Resolving child contact arrangements after divorce is often tricky, but for a farming family where the children may have been actively involved in the business, it can be particularly problematic.

When a couple who farm get divorced, one spouse will usually leave the family farm and so it is important to try to reach agreement at the earliest stage about who will get to spend time with any children and when.

If the children work on the farm, this may need to be taken into consideration when the child contact arrangements are being negotiated as they may (or may not) want to be involved during busy periods such as lambing or harvest seasons.

While agreeing co-parenting arrangements can be challenging for farming families – not least because of the demanding working patterns – there are steps farming parents can take to make the process less stressful for them and their children.

Coming to an agreement on contact for key dates such as birthdays, Christmas and school holidays is crucial. So is deciding how you are going to communicate with each other, to ensure you are not putting the onus on your children to pass on messages between you.

It is important too for parents to be flexible on contact. Your children may want to keep in touch with your ex-spouse through phone or video calls, especially if he or she is having to work unsociable hours, so try not to be too rigid and always put the needs of your children first.

Ideally, you should try to come to an amicable agreement between yourselves about child contact arrangements. If this is not possible, it is important to avoid arguing in front of the children and to seek help from a trained mediator.

Mediation involves an independent third party, who does not take sides or give advice, sitting down with you and your ex-partner and helping you to discuss your issues until an agreement can be reached which suits you all.

If you are able to agree child contact arrangements in this manner, you can have a Parenting Plan drawn up. Your solicitor can then draft a consent order which confirms your agreement and then have it approved by a court to make it legally binding.

If you are unable to reach agreement on child contact, you can apply to the court for a ‘child arrangement order’. This sees the court deciding where the children will live, how long your children will spend with each parent; and when and what other forms of contact with each parent the children can have.

In reaching a decision, the court will always put the interests of the children first and will consider the:

• child’s gender, age, background, and characteristics;
• effect the contact arrangements will have on the child;
• child’s physical, educational, and emotional requirements;
• child’s wishes and feelings;
• ability of parents to meet the child’s needs; and
• potential risk of harm to the child.

You can only seek a child arrangement order if you have parental responsibility for your children. Mothers automatically have parental responsibility from birth, while a father will have it if he is married to the child’s mother or is listed on the birth certificate. An unmarried father can obtain parental responsibility by: registering a child’s birth with the mother; getting a parental responsibility agreement with the mother; or seeking a parental responsibility order from the courts.

How we can help

If you and your former partner are unable to come to an agreement on contact arrangements for your children, it is highly advisable to get early legal advice from us as your family law specialist.

Our highly experienced team of family law experts will outline your options, get you ready for your mediation sessions, guide you through the process, take care of any paperwork required, and be there to provide advice and representation if you need to go to court.

For more information please contact our team on York 01904 716000, Wetherby 01937 583210 or Malton 01653 692247  to see how we can assist.