26. Private Children Law

Private children law concerns disputes between family members about children. It deals with whom a child shall live, with whom they should have contact, and what steps a parent can take in their exercise of parental responsibility. The Children Act 1989 and the Children and Families Act 2014 have orders that the court can make to help to resolve these disputes. This chapter examines the orders available in private children proceedings, who can apply for them, and the individual considerations of each order. These include child arrangements orders, residence orders, contact orders, specific issues orders, prohibited steps orders, and special guardianship orders.