Chambers HNW 2025: Band 1, Leading Firm for Family Law
We are highly experienced in advising parents and acting on their behalf in relation to all legal matters concerning children. As with much of our work, there is often an international element, and we are accustomed to liaising with practitioners in other jurisdictions and have an established network of contacts.
We are adept at addressing a broad range of issues related to children and understand that these are delicate, emotional matters requiring sensitive handling. Our priority in most cases will be to seek a resolution without recourse to the courts, but we are equally well versed in pursuing cases vigorously through litigation when needed.
We understand that disputes concerning children can be distressing and destabilising. Our advice is designed to minimise upheaval and disruption and will always ensure that the child’s welfare is at the heart of the case. We have good relationships with experts in other disciplines and can bring them into a case where appropriate (including counsellors, family therapists and psychologists). We recognise that every family is unique and that a bespoke solution to meet your particular circumstances is essential. We endeavour to conduct matters relating to children with the minimum acrimony, recognising at all times that, after proceedings, familial relationships will remain.
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Matters involving children require specialist expertise, sensitivity, and a genuine understanding of your situation. At Payne Hicks Beach, our experienced solicitors are dedicated to protecting your children’s interests, your family, and your privacy while working towards the best possible outcome.
Why Choose Payne Hicks Beach for Family Law?
Recognised by Chambers HNW (Band 1) and Legal 500 for specialist expertise in children law, strategic advice, and the handling of high-complexity cases. Our team includes some of the most experienced children law practitioners in England and Wales. In 2024, the firm won Family Law Team of the Year at the Chambers HNW Awards, reflecting the depth and quality of our practice across all areas of family law, including private children work.
Our children law practice spans the full breadth of private children work. We advise on Child Arrangements Orders regulating where a child lives and their time with each parent; Specific Issue Orders resolving disputes about education, medical treatment, or other aspects of a child’s upbringing; and Prohibited Steps Orders preventing one parent from taking action that the other parent opposes. We are experienced in assisting a parent acquire parental responsibility and in domestic and international relocation cases acting for either the relocating parent or the parent wishing to retain the status quo. Our team is also experienced in child abduction proceedings, wardship, special guardianship, child protection, surrogacy, and adoption. We also deal with applications under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 (financial provision for unmarried parents), Whatever the nature of the issue, the child’s welfare remains at the centre of our advice.
We provide a bespoke service with the utmost sensitivity and discretion. Children proceedings are already held in private by default, but we go further, advising clients from the outset on how to minimise the footprint of any dispute. We are experienced in all aspects of non-court dispute resolution, including mediation, arbitration, and private hearings, and we actively explore these routes before any court application is considered. For high-profile clients or those with particular reputational concerns, we can work alongside our colleagues in dispute resolution and privacy law to ensure that any associated proceedings, whether injunctions, confidentiality applications, or media management, are handled as part of a single coordinated strategy. We are committed to ensuring that your family’s privacy is protected throughout.
International children law is one of the most technically demanding areas of family practice, and our team has substantial experience. We act in both Hague and non-Hague Convention child abduction cases, leave to remove applications (where a parent seeks to relocate a child abroad), and wardship proceedings. We have an established network of trusted family lawyers in key jurisdictions and regularly assemble cross-border teams to protect our clients’ positions wherever the dispute arises.
What Our Clients Say
Our Services
Child Arrangements Orders
Applications made under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 for a Child Arrangements Order regulating who a child will live with and how much time the child will spend with the other parent.
Specific Issue Orders
Applications made under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 for Specific Issue Orders dealing with a specific aspect of a child’s upbringing. This might include issues such as identifying the most appropriate school for a child or whether a child should receive a particular vaccination.
Prohibited Steps Orders
Applications made under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 for Prohibited Steps Orders preventing one parent from doing something that the other parent objects to, for example removing the child from the jurisdiction.
Schedule 1 Financial Provision
Applications made under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 for financial provision for children.
Leave To Remove
We have experience in both acting for a parent seeking to remove a child from the UK to reside elsewhere and defending applications to remove a child where a parent wishes to maintain the status quo.
Child Abduction Wardship Adoption
Child abduction where a child has been removed from the jurisdiction or retained in another jurisdiction. Wardship proceedings placing a child under the court’s protection; surrogacy arrangements; and adoption.
Credentials & Accreditations
- Chambers HNW 2025: Band 1, Leading Firm for Family Law
- Chambers UK 2026: Band 1, Leading Firm for Family Law
- Legal 500 UK 2025 & 2026: Top Tier, Leading Firm, Family Law
- ePrivateclient 2025: Tier 1 Ranking, Top Family Law Firms
- Doyle’s Guide 2025: First Tier, Leading Family & Divorce Law (London)
- Spear’s Family Lawyers Index 2025: Featured for top family lawyers
- Chambers HNW Awards 2024: Winner, Family Law Team of the Year
Frequently Asked Questions
A Child Arrangements Order is a court order that sets out where a child will live and how much time they will spend with each parent following separation. The court follows the “no order” principle and will not make an order unless doing so is better for the child than making no order at all. Therefore, in most instances parents will be able to regulate the arrangements for their children between themselves with no intervention required. However, where parents cannot agree on arrangements between themselves, a Child Arrangements Order provides a clear, enforceable framework to protect the child’s best interests.
The overriding principle in all children proceedings is the welfare of the child; this is the court’s paramount consideration, and every decision flows from it. The court works through the welfare checklist, set out in section 1(3) of the Children Act 1989, which includes the child’s own wishes and feelings (considered in light of their age and understanding), their physical, emotional and educational needs, the likely effect of any change in circumstances, and any harm the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering. The court also considers each parent’s ability to meet the child’s needs. The court has a wide discretion to engineer a bespoke solution based on the specific facts before it.
Parental responsibility is defined in section 3(1) of the Children Act 1989 as all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and their property. It covers decisions about education, medical treatment, religion, and where the child lives. A mother automatically has parental responsibility from birth. A father has parental responsibility if he was married to or in a civil partnership with the mother at the time of the child’s birth or if he is named on the birth certificate. Unmarried fathers not on the birth certificate can acquire parental responsibility through a formal written agreement with the mother registered with the court, or by applying to the court for a Parental Responsibility Order. Step-parents do not automatically acquire parental responsibility and must apply for it separately.
The child’s parents are the most common applicants. Other individuals may also be entitled to apply without needing the court’s permission, including any party to a marriage or civil partnership where the child is a child of the family, anyone with whom the child has lived for at least three years, and anyone who has the consent of all those with parental responsibility. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others can also apply but must first obtain the court’s permission. If you are unsure whether you are entitled to apply or need permission, we can advise you on your position.
The position differs depending on which part of the order is in question. The contact arrangements element lasts until the child reaches the age of 16, in accordance with section 91(10) of the Children Act 1989. The ‘lives with’ element technically continues until the child turns 18, though courts are generally very reluctant to enforce it beyond the age of 16 unless there are exceptional circumstances. The court is reluctant to make any orders at all in respect of older children. Arrangements can be varied by agreement at any time; a solicitor can help formalise any agreed changes. If one parent wishes to change the order and the other does not agree, a court application will be required.
If one parent fails to comply with a Child Arrangements Order, the other can apply to the court to enforce it. The court will list a hearing to establish why the order was not followed and what should happen next. Consequences can range from referral back to mediation through to the imposition of a financial penalty or, in the most serious cases, committal for contempt of court. The court will only make an enforcement order if it is satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the order has been breached unreasonably. A parent may avoid enforcement action if they can demonstrate a reasonable excuse, for example, that the child was unwell or that transport difficulties made compliance impossible.
The position depends on whether any Child Arrangements Order is in place and on who holds parental responsibility. Under section 13(2) of the Children Act 1989, where a Child Arrangements Order specifies that a child lives with a particular person, that person may take the child outside England and Wales for up to one calendar month without the consent of others with parental responsibility. A parent who has contact arrangements and is not named as the person the child lives with does not have this automatic right and must obtain consent or a court order before taking the child abroad. Where no Child Arrangements Order is in place, the consent of all those with parental responsibility is required. Taking a child abroad without the necessary consent may constitute child abduction, which is a criminal offence. If you are concerned about this issue in either direction, seek legal advice immediately.
A leave-to-remove application is made by a parent who wishes to relocate permanently outside England and Wales with a child following separation. It is often one of the most difficult applications to grapple with as the outcome is binary – if granted, it fundamentally changes the child’s relationship with the parent who is left behind. The court’s primary consideration is whether the proposed move is genuinely in the child’s best interests, as assessed using the welfare checklist. It will assess the quality of the applicant’s plans for the child’s education and welfare abroad, the impact on the child’s relationship with the remaining parent, and what contact arrangements would be workable. We act for both applicants and respondents in leave-to-remove applications.
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Contact Us for a Confidential Consultation
If you need advice on any matter concerning your children, whether you are in the early stages of separation or facing an urgent application, our team is here to help. We are happy to discuss your circumstances, explain your options, and set out a clear path forward.
