[Solved] 50/50 Equal Shared Care

Do you have to pay that each time you go back to court?

So cost has actually gone down??

Unfortunately you do have to pay again!

Yes, the cost has gone down by a whole £5.

Quick Update:

I've had my first call with CAFCASS to explain in more detail the application.

The CAFCASS officer has now advised that the hearing will not go ahead in personal (due to COVID-19) but rather by conference call. The CAFCASS officer also advised that we both will probably need to prepare statements ahead of the hearing.

Has anybody done this? I assume this will be a position statement (although the officer didn't say).

Fingers-crossed, I can get shared-equal care!

hi,

you should check court paperwork. does it ask you to prepare any statement?

if not, just do position statement for your hearing, outlining your situation and what you are asking for in terms of shared care. as its remote hearing, email it so court, cafcass and your ex in advance.

would you have to explain why you want shared care in that statement?

and down to which days / frequency that type of thing?

yep you should state what your seeking.

on my recent position statement i put:

- fri-mon every other weekend
-wed-thu overnight every week
-half of school holidays

Thanks Bill, I plan to prepare a position statement.

It doesn't explicitly state this in the court papers however, the CAFCASS officer mentioned it today and it should be in the update letter they send to both parties and the court.

Hi all,

Just had my hearing - this took place via conference call due to the current situation.

The issues I raised were eventually agreed upon however in regards to 50/50 shared-equal care, my ex wouldn't agree.

I requested 1 extra day per week and my ex wouldn't agree so the CAFCASS officer recommended 1 extra day over the 2 weeks which would increase my days by approximately 25 days. This would still be just under the 50/50 split but I didn't want to have to provide statements and wait for another court date.

Although this is not ideally what I wanted, its better than what I had and avoids.

I looked at the legislation again about I see the following:

CHAPTER 4 SPECIAL CASES
Parent treated as a non-resident parent in shared care cases

50.—(1) Where the circumstances of a case are that—

(a)an application is made by a person with care under section 4 of the 1991 Act F1; and

(b)the person named in that application as the non-resident parent of the qualifying child also provides a home for that child (in a different household from the applicant) and shares the day to day care of that child with the applicant,

the case is to be treated as a special case for the purposes of the 1991 Act.

(2) For the purposes of this special case, the person mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) is to be treated as the non-resident parent if, and only if, that person provides day to day care to a lesser extent than the applicant.

The thing that is not clear to me is this: (2) For the purposes of this special case, the person mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) is to be treated as the non-resident parent if, and only if, that person provides day to day care to a lesser extent than the applicant.

I provide the same care, no less and there is a clause in the order that says if my child wants to spend more time with me beyond what is agreed, it is to be accommodated. I am waiting for the revised court order before calling Child maintenance but I wonder if this constitutes to shared-equal care.

Has anybody been in a similar situation?

So how many days a week did you have before this hearing?

And with the 1 extra day over the 2 weeks how many is it over the year? Asking because i think CMS has date ranges for the year listed

Approx 137 before today and now approx 168.

I know that CMS has date ranges so this changes things but I think my question was more so trying to define what paragraph 1(b) means. I think special cases, are not identified by days alone but wondered if anyone thinks or knows different.

Sorry not sure but wouldn't they class you in the "3 nights a week (156 to 174 a year)" category?

I have 2 nights a week atm, would love to get it to 3 or in this category anyway.

Yes ultimately they would but I was just looking for clarification on the legislation.

Hopefully you can get some additional time with yours too