A child’s right to contact and residence is accompanied by a set of duties

As family lawyers, we help clients with some of the most delicate and emotional matters, such as child custody, living arrangements, and navigating court orders. We are here to assist you reach a happy, healthy, and reasonable agreement because we understand that the welfare and best interests of the children should always come first when parents separate or divorce. 

Child Residence and Contact Order

Child Residence Order

This is the principal residence that the child will live in when the parents separate or divorce. Even if the child spends almost equal time with both parents, Scots law allows for only one parent to have “residence”. 

Child Contact Order

This refers to the contact arrangement that allows the child to spend time with the parent with whom they do not “reside”. It will look different in each situation, but it will typically include visits, overnight stays, vacations, and other types of indirect contact such as calls, texts, and video chats.

Parental responsibility and rights

As a parent, you are legally entitled to be involved in your child’s life and to influence major decisions, which are crucial aspects of your parental rights and responsibilities. The child’s best interests, however, will always be considered against these rights.

Parental Rights

Generally speaking, as a parent, you have the right to be involved in important decisions regarding your child’s upbringing, such as those related to living conditions, education, health, and religion.

Even if your child doesn’t live with you, you still have the right to be in touch with them regularly, as established by parental rights and responsibilities. Depending on the situation, this could take the form of regular visits, phone conversations, or other types of communication.

You have the right to seek assistance from the courts if you are having trouble maintaining these rights, such as the right to contact your child, and may need to apply for a court order. Family courts are intended to step in when disagreements arise over issues related to children.

Parental Responsibility

As the phrase goes, “With rights come responsibilities.” Understanding and carrying out your responsibilities in your child’s emotional and practical development is important. In general, your responsibilities as a parent include the following:

• Ensuring the welfare of their child is the main responsibility of both parents. This means maintaining stability, offering emotional support, and making choices that are in the child’s best interests.
• Children need to have positive ties with both parents to ensure their emotional well-being and support effective child arrangements. Parents must refrain from criticising one another, even if they no longer live together.  It’s usually best for the child if you encourage good communication between them and the other parent.
• As long as it’s still in the child’s best interests, it’s essential to make an effort to follow through on agreed-upon residence and contact plans. This means being present for communication, following agreed-upon pickup and drop-off hours, and keeping your word. Parents should try to come to an agreement on child arrangements as soon as possible if changes are needed.
• In order to make any co-parenting agreement work, communication is the key. The child can experience less stress and have open channels of communication if both parents are cooperative and interactive with each other. To try to improve direct communication, think about hiring mediation services.

How are decisions about residence and child contact made?

Parents are usually encouraged to agree to a living and contact agreement without the involvement of the court. If there are challenges to agreement, it can be useful to attempt to mediate the situation to see if an arrangement can be achieved.  In the event that mediation fails and the parents are unable to come to an agreement, the case may be brought before a judge, who will decide what is best for the child.

Conclusions

It might be hard to make plans for the child, especially when things are emotionally taxing, such as separation or divorce. It is essential to be aware of your rights, but it is equally necessary to acknowledge the responsibilities that accompany them. The child’s welfare should always come first, and as much as possible, parents should try to collaborate in a way that gives their kids a loving, supportive environment.  When disputes arise, obtaining expert legal counsel or mediation often results in a more peaceful and seamless settlement.

The safety, stability, and emotional development of a child are ultimately the responsibility of both parents, even in the event of a separation. We are here to support you in this endeavour.