Child Care Solicitors in Leicester

Our child care solicitors can help you with your Special Guardianship Orders and Child Arrangement Orders, depending on your needs. The main difference between the two, is that Special Guardianship Orders enable family members to gain parental responsibility for children, whereas people seeking Child Arrangement Orders already have this right.

Moreover, when granted, Special Guardianship Orders provide a stronger level of stability to your position as a guardian. However, this is due to their association to child care proceedings; Child Arrangement Orders are a common occurrence in matters of Advanced Family Law, such as separation and divorce.

Special Guardianship Order

This order allows known members of a family to gain parental responsibility for a child whose current care is deemed concerning. If the social services have reason to believe that a child is unsafe living at their home address, they have a duty of care to carry out a pre-proceedings meeting. If this initial meeting progresses to court and a Special Guardianship Order is granted, family members have the opportunity to formally apply to take responsibility for the child in question.

To get this process underway, our solicitors can help you with your Special Guardianship Order application. We undercut the legal jargon, offer your clear, straightforward advice, representing you in court whenever necessary. Your voice is important to us and we can help you be heard, whether you are an older sibling, Aunt, Uncle, Grandparents or a trusted family friend. We can also support you if you are the child’s current foster carer.

Child Arrangement Orders

In the large majority of instances, Child Arrangement Orders are issued to a child’s biological parents when a marriage breakdown occurs. But, there are exceptions. The general requirement is that the people applying already have parental responsibility, including step-parents and guardians. It is not unheard of for Grandparents to make an application; however, with parental rights, additional steps need to be taken.

A Child Arrangement Order aims to help separated couples, undergoing a divorce or not, to specify where their children will reside and how much time they will spend with each parent. A separation or a divorce is an extremely stressful and emotionally draining process. Amongst all the initial acceptance of the situation, there are a lot of decisions to be made that both parents will need to agree upon. However, it comes as no surprise that disagreements are bound to occur.

If you and your previous partner cannot agree, the next step is to apply for a Child Arrangement Order. This legally binding agreement is made by the court once solicitors have presented both parties’ views. Child Arrangement Orders were formally known as Contact or Residence Orders, however, these have been phased out. If you previously had an agreement under this name, you do not need to reapply; its content is still relevant to your situation.

At Cartwright King, we provide you with high-quality legal advice that is open, honest and sensitive to your case. With Child Care Proceedings we know the importance of putting the child’s welfare first; however, we also know from experience that you will also require support alongside your legal guidance.

Recognised by both Legal 500 and the Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession, our child care solicitors are dedicated to managing your child care cases with respect, finding resolutions for all your child care law and advanced family law needs. Correspondence is carried out promptly, giving you the information you require when it is needed.

Our Leicester office is located at Floor 5, Horsefair House, 3 Horsefair Street, Leicester, LE1 5BP

Parking Facilities

Our office at Horsefair House unfortunately does not have any on-site parking facilities. However, we are within close proximity to two public car parks, Leicester Rutland Centre (Curve, LE1 1TQ) and Newarke Street (Phoenix, LE2 7AD).

By Train

We are very accessible by Leicester train station; our office is a short 10-minute walk from our door. The route to follow is Conduit Street > London Road/A6 > East Street > London Road/A594 > Granby Street > Horsefair Street. There is also a taxi rank right outside of the station too.

By Bus

You can also reach our office by bus. The nearest stops are the Haymarket bus station and St Margaret’s bus station. These are a 5-minute and 10-minute walk from our door.