[Solved] Becoming primary carer....

Hi, you would need to make an urgent application to the court using a C100 form for a Child Arrangement Order about where your daughter lives and an urgent Prohibited Steps Order to prevent her being removed from your care.

Given the distance between your homes, the court would not approve of such big changes going back and forth and it is important for your daughter to have some stability.

You might be granted an interim urgent order and then full proceedings would begin, there would likely be a Section 7 report ordered by the court which would help determine where your daughter should live on a permanent basis. This process in total would take approximately 4-6 months.

If an urgent hearing is listed, it is likely this will take place without the mother being given notice, if the order is granted, she will be given an opportunity to challenge this.

My best advice is to get this before the court as a matter of urgency.

If there is a current order in place that states your daughter lives with her mother you must make this application quickly.

Thank you for all the very helpful advice.....we do not currently have any sort of court order in place, we've managed to amicably sort everything out and I pay her each month more or less what the CSA calculator suggests and she get's all child benefits etc.,

The fact that we do not currently have an order place, does that mean that as things stand I have every right to allow my Daughter to continue to live with me and find a school for her etc. or is it the case that because my ex currently gets child benefits, etc and my Daughter has spent the majority of the time with her up till now does that mean she can legally retrieve her from me immediately or would she have to go through a similar process to that which you have recommended to me?

If we just verbally agreed that my Daughter is now living with me and I re school her etc., is that strong enough legally for me to stop paying maintenance and apply for child benefits etc,.

Thanks,
Mark

Hello markmorb

I am not an expert when it comes to custody and legal rights, however, I can provide you with some information to help you determine who will be classed as the receiving parent with regards to child maintenance.

The definition of a receiving parent (referred to in legislation as the 'person with care') is the person with whom a child has his/her home and who usually provides day-to-day care of the child.

The definition of a paying parent (referred to in legislation as the 'non-resident parent') is the person who does not usually provide the day-to-day care of the child.

For assistance with clarifying who should receive the Child Benefit, you may wish to contact the Child Benefit department of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). You can find their contact details, as well as information about Child Benefit, at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk.

If you feel you may benefit from seeking legal advice, you could contact Civil Legal Advice, the Government funded confidential legal service. More information about them, as well as their contact details, can be found on their website at http://www.gov.uk/civil-legal-advice.

For information on the different ways to set up child maintenance and for a more personalised service, you can visit the Child Maintenance Options website at http://www.cmoptions.org.

The DWP have a sorting out separation web-app that you may find useful. It offers help and support to separating and separated families. The link is: www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation.

Regards

William

as there is no legal agreement, ie a court order or CSA/CMS involvement, then you can stop paying maintenance, and you certainly can apply for the child benefit. My only worry would be whether this would prompt your ex to take your daughter back - I would be more inclined, if you can afford to do so, to continue paying for a while and get your daughter established in school, social life etc and once done, then stop paying - that way, if your ex tried to take her back, you can apply for a child arrangment order that she remains with you, and a court is far less likely to return her to her mother if she is established where she is.

as there is no legal agreement, ie a court order or CSA/CMS involvement, then you can stop paying maintenance, and you certainly can apply for the child benefit. My only worry would be whether this would prompt your ex to take your daughter back - I would be more inclined, if you can afford to do so, to continue paying for a while and get your daughter established in school, social life etc and once done, then stop paying - that way, if your ex tried to take her back, you can apply for a child arrangment order that she remains with you, and a court is far less likely to return her to her mother if she is established where she is.

Thanks for that...that is exactly how I intend to do it, the most important thing is my Daughters wellbeing and security and I think the situation you describe could well happen.

..and thanks again for all the other replies, they have been very helpful indeed.

Mark