What are Child Arrangements Orders (CAOs)?

CAOs are new orders that regulate with whom a child is to live, spend time or otherwise have contact.

They were introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014 and replace Residence and Contact Orders.

When will we start to see them?

They were introduced on Tuesday.

Why the change?

The terms Residence and Contact were considered to be emotive labels, inherently implying a winner and a loser. CAOs are intended to move us away from those labels.

Will existing Residence and Contact Orders be affected?

No, but they will now be referred to as CAOs.

Will I acquire Parental Responsibility if I’m named in a CAO?

Unless you already have it, only if you’re named as the person with whom the child ‘lives’.

Can the parent with whom the child ‘lives’ take them abroad for up to a month without the other parent’s consent?

Yes, unless the other parent is also named as a person with whom the child ‘lives’.

Is there anything else I should know?

The terms Residence and Contact were first introduced in 1991 to replace Custody and Access.

The reason for the change at that time was to get away from terminology which suggested that one parent had ownership of a child and the other parent had visitation rights.

The concept of Parental Responsibility was also introduced, encompassing all the rights and responsibilities associated with being a parent; for example, the right to give consent to medical treatment.

Since then the Courts have adopted the principle that children should have contact with both parents provided it is in their best interests.

The Children and Families Act 2014 now creates a legal presumption that the involvement of both parents will further a child’s welfare unless the contrary is shown.

It does not create a presumption of shared parenting, but enshrines the importance of children having an ongoing relationship with both parents after family separation, where it is safe and in the child’s best interests.

The Government’s stated aim on this is to “send an important message to parents about the valuable role which they both play in their child’s life…” and to “encourage separated parents to adopt a less rigid and confrontational position with regard to arrangements for their children”.

CAOs are intended to encourage separated parents to adopt that position.