Jargonbuster - Child Arrangements Order

Child Arrangements Order – a Court Order detailing where a child should live and with whom. It also details who else spends time with the child and when. This Order is the final stage of child proceedings in the Family Court. It gives parents the framework within which they will manage their 

child’s childhood. 

 

There are variations within the Order and these are important. The primary two variations are a ‘live with, spend time with’ and ‘live with, live with’ Order. 

 

A ‘live with, spend time with’ Order gives one parent the role of the resident parent and the child will be regarded as living with them from a legal perspective. The other parent will be granted windows of time when they spend time with the child. A ‘live with, live with’ Order gives both parents the role of the resident parent and the child will be regarded as living with each parent from a legal perspective. The division of time is then detailed within the Order. This variation is sometimes referred to as a ‘shared care’ Order.