Sharing is caring?
The shared care of a child has many forms. There is no one set formula. If a child stays overnight with both parents, then this is shared care, whether it is once per week or for half of the week.
The English courts used to order one parent to have ‘custody care and control’ of the child or children, with the other, having ‘access’ to the child. Fortunately, this has changed, initially evolving into residence with one parent (with whom the child resides) and contact with the other, to the shared care child arrangements we see now.
Time does not have to be equal between the parents. This is not always practical due to work, shift patterns, distance etc. The focus is on the quality of time the child spends with each parent.
Shared care does mean however, that both parents take part in any emergency, and managing the child’s life so it is not all down to just one parent. This will mean that when the child is sick, this should be a shared responsibility. Any doctors or dentist appointments are also a shared responsibility, as are school activities. Both parents should be involved in the organisation of birthdays and the child’s life in general. As such, shared responsibility needs good communication between the parents to make it work well.
Should you require advice on shared care, please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of our experienced family team on 0333 305 7777 or info@progressionsolicitors.com.
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