My Ex Has Breached our Child Arrangements Order! Can I enforce it?

A source of frustration for parents, who have been diligently through the Family Court Process, is when after painstakingly achieving a Child Arrangements Order, the other parent after a time starts to play by their own rules.

It gives rise to the question: I went through all that trouble to get the Order, can I enforce it against them now?

As with most things, it comes down to your specific circumstances. So, let’s take a look briefly at the law.

The Law

Section 11J of the Children Act 1989 sets out when you can make an application for Enforcement, and it is a two part test.

• Has the other party breached your Order; and
• If so, did they have a reasonable excuse for doing so?

The tricky thing with Enforcement is that the person applying has to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that the other person has breached the original Order. The other party then has to prove, but only on the balance of probabilities, that if they did, they had a good reason for doing so.

A good reason may be safeguarding issues, a new partner they have legitimate concerns about, a child exhibiting extreme distress after periods with the applying parent, or any other number of reasons. 

As such, it is – as always – a nuanced application which we would be happy to discuss with you, and give you a steer about whether you are likely to succeed or not. Bear in mind, if you do succeed, it is one of the few Child related applications where, if you win, the other party will usually have to pay your costs.

If you are having issues with your co-parenting breaching a Court Order in relation to Child Arrangements, please contact us at family@moore-tibbits.co.uk and we would be happy to help.

Article by: Antonia Kirby | Senior Solicitor