Will The Family Court Force My Ex-Partner To Let Me See My Child?

In any case about a child, the family court’s decision will be based on their best interests. There is a presumption that it will be in a child’s best interests to have a relationship with both parents, as long as it is safe. There is no set requirement for the court to order any spending time arrangements, or a certain level of spending time arrangements, but the court will need to justify its decision as being in the child’s best interests.

When will the family court limit my time with my child?

In line with the presumption, the family court most commonly limits spending time arrangements based on safety concerns. Other reasons could be geographical distance from the child’s home, or a parent’s work schedule. If it is alleged that there is a safety reason to limit a child’s relationship with a parent, the court will need to decide what further evidence it needs to assess the safety concern. That further evidence could be a drug or alcohol test, medical evidence, or even a trial to decide whether allegations of domestic abuse are true. The court can also order experts to conduct assessments, such as psychiatric or psychological assessments. However, this is not common due to the cost and delay it will incur. The court will not permit instruction of an expert unless it considers it necessary.

Can a child see a parent if there is an alleged safety risk?

If the court considers there is a real safety risk, such as from domestic abuse, then the court will consider what can be done to mitigate the safety risk. For example, a perpetrator of domestic abuse may attend a course to gain insight into the impact of their behaviour, lessening the likelihood they repeat it. The court will then be looking to increase the time which the child can safely spend with that parent. However, if the safety risk remains, the court may consider that it is not safe for a child to spend a very long time with a parent, or require that the time be supervised. In rare cases, the court will not order any face to face contact, or even any video or letter contact.

Before the family court makes a rare decision to order very little contact between a parent and child, it must consider closely what can be done to improve the relationship. There is a duty on the court to promote a child’s relationship with both parents, even where those parents are imperfect.

What other reasons are there for the Court not to order contact between a child and their parent?

One example may be that there may be practical problems with facilitating contact. The recent case Re H (A Child: Domestic Abuse) [2024] EWCA Civ 326, considered where contact which is safe in itself may create other risks. In this case, the Court of Appeal refused to overturn a decision not to order long-term face to face contact, where it had been going relatively well. The court had decided that the father had a “negative obsession” with the very vulnerable mother, had behaved abusively, and lacked capacity or intention to change. The mother’s behaviour had also been poor at times, but she had greater capacity to improve and giving her the best opportunity to do so was the only way to keep the child from being taken into care. If contact continued as the child got older, it would not be possible to stop information about where the mother lived being shared with the father by the child. Prohibiting the child being able to speak to the father about his school or the area he lived in was considered wrong and impractical. Therefore, any direct contact would have to wait until the father reapplied with greater insight into his behaviour.

Here to Help

If you need advice on any family matter, please get in touch with Tracey Dargan, Partner and Head of Family and Divorce.

Please note the contents of this article are given for information only and must not be relied upon. Legal advice should always be sought in relation to specific circumstances.