Q. If I leave will I be allowed to see my children?
A. The starting point is that contact with both parents is desirable, and likely to be in the child's best interests, unless there have been allegations of, for example, abuse or neglect. If you cannot agree a sensible pattern of contact with your spouse/partner, you can ask the court to step in and make an order. The court will take into account a number of factors, called the "welfare checklist" to decide whether contact is in the child's best interests. Such factors include the child's own wishes and feelings and age. Clearly, contact needs to be age appropriate, and if the child is very young, it might be sensible to increase the level of contact gradually.
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How much child maintenance will I get?
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Can the biological father of our child take him away from us?
As soon as I mentioned divorce to my husband he said he'd stop paying to support our children. Help!
If I agree to a divorce from my wife, will she automatically get custody of our children?
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Andrew Woolley
Family lawyer