How to apply for a child arrangements order at a Pathfinder or Child Focussed court

Summary

If you are struggling to agree arrangements for your children, you may need to apply to the family court. The process you have to follow will depend what court you need to apply to. This guide is for people applying to a Pathfinder or Child Focussed court. It explains what these courts are, how the process works and what you need to do – step-by-step. This guide is for England and Wales only. 1 What is a Pathfinder or Child Focussed court? 2 Where are the Pathfinder or Child Focussed courts? 3 Things to understand 4 Legal aid 5 What the court takes into account when it makes a decision 6 How to sort out arrangements for your children by negotiation and agreement 7 Before you can go to court 8 Going to court - the basics 9 How to apply for a child arrangements order 10 Checklist for starting an application 11 Cafcass and Cafcass Cymru 12 The Pathfinder/Child Focussed court process 13 Day 1 14 Between day 1 – day 5 15 From day 5 to weeks 6 - 8 (depending on the court you are in) 16 Week 7 or 9 (depending on the court you are in) 17 Week 8 or 10 onwards 18 Court hearings – the practicalities 19 Getting ready for the hearing - a checklist 20 Court bundles and statements 21 More help.

Key information

• •If you are struggling to agree arrangements for your children, you may need to apply to the family court. The process you have to follow will depend what court you need to apply to. This guide is for people applying to a Pathfinder or Child Focussed court. It explains what these courts are, how the process works and what you need to do – step-by-step.
• •1 What is a Pathfinder or Child Focussed court? 2 Where are the Pathfinder or Child Focussed courts? 3 Things to understand 4 Legal aid 5 What the court takes into account when it makes a decision 6 How to sort out arrangements for your children by negotiation and agreement 7 Before you can go to court 8 Going to court - the basics 9 How to apply for a child arrangements order 10 Checklist for starting an application 11 Cafcass and Cafcass Cymru 12 The Pathfinder/Child Focussed court process 13 Day 1 14 Between day 1 – day 5 15 From day 5 to weeks 6 - 8 (depending on the court you are in) 16 Week 7 or 9 (depending on the court you are in) 17 Week 8 or 10 onwards 18 Court hearings – the practicalities 19 Getting ready for the hearing - a checklist 20 Court bundles and statements 21 More help and advice 22 FAQs about child arrangements and Pathfinder courts 23 What does it mean? 24 About this guide
• •1. Working out where your children are going to live and how much time they are going to spend with each parent when you separate is called sorting out ‘child arrangements’. People seem to still call it ‘child custody’ or ‘residence’ and ‘contact’ even though the law moved away from these ideas a long time ago. 2. Before you apply to court you usually need to follow a set process – take a look at our guide on what you need to do before you can apply to court for more help. 3. If you still can’t reach an agreement about your children, you may need to apply to court, for a child arrangements order. This guide helps you work out if the court you need to apply to is a Pathfinder or Child Focussed court. If it is, this guide will take you through the process, step-by-step.
• •This guide is for parents who are struggling to agree arrangements for their children. If your child is being looked after by the local authority (also called the local council), this guide is not for you. You can apply for legal aid for advice from a solicitor.
• •You will come across lots of legal words if you apply to court. As we go through the process, we explain the legal words it will help to understand. There is also a section at the end of the guide called What does it mean?

Practical guidance

• •Source: [How to apply for a child arrangements order at a Pathfinder or Child Focussed court](https://www.advicenow.org.uk/get-help/family-and-children/child-arrangements/how-apply-child-arrangements-order-pathfinder-or)

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