Preparing for a Covid Christmas – how do I deal with child arrangements?
Sarah Harding (pictured with her niece) lives in Maida Vale and is an experienced family law Partner at Hodge Jones & Allen Solicitors. In this blog, Sarah looks at how separated families can celebrate a safe and enjoyable Christmas this year.
Preparing for a Covid Christmas
How do I deal with child arrangements?
The festive period is usually a time for families to get together, to celebrate love and gratitude. There is no doubt that the festive period during 2020 will be very different for a lot of families due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Many areas will remain under strict tier restrictions in the lead up to and following Christmas. Many people are not able to see their elderly relatives or friends. Christmas parties are cancelled or taking place via Zoom.
Those families that can get together will undoubtedly want to make the most of it following what has quite frankly been an awful year. What about children from separated families - can they see both parents? What if the parents cannot agree the arrangements? What about mixing bubbles, is this allowed? These are all important questions.
Parental Responsibility and the law
First and foremost, the law concerning children is governed by the Children Act 1989. This defines the concept of what is known as “Parental Responsibility”. Most parents hold Parental Responsibility for their children (provided the father is named on the birth certificate). Parental Responsibility is defined as “all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities, and authority which, by law, a parent, has in relation to a child”.
Holders of Parental Responsibility are not always parents of children. They can be someone who holds Parental Responsibility through a court order such as grandparents, Special Guardians or others who have had Parental Responsibility delegated to them. However, for the purposes of this article, I am referring to Parents of children.
Who makes those important decisions for your children?
All parents must agree upon all the important decisions in the child’s life including where the child shall live (referred to as residence or shared care), where the child shall spend their time (often referred to as contact), which school they should attend, whether they should be able to travel abroad, consent to medical treatment, agree upon the child’s religion, agree the child’s name etc. The list is not exhaustive but as will be noted, it includes the most important issues concerning a child’s welfare.
All of these decisions must be agreed and neither parent can dictate any of these decisions to the other parent. This of course includes where a child shall spend their time at any time of the year including during the special Festive period.
Dealing with family disputes during Christmas
Disputes often occur between parents as to the arrangements for care of children during the special days including Good Friday, Eid, Diwali, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day etc. These disputes may well increase this year due to confusion regarding the governments ever changing tier restrictions and the wish for families to keep their loved ones close.
The legal position is that children of separated parents can move between parents’ homes for the purposes of spending time with the other parent. This is regardless of what restrictions are in place in the area in which the child resides. The child will form part of the parent’s household bubble whilst with that parent.
The government are relaxing the restrictions between 23rd and 27th December 2020. This enables three household bubbles to mix, which then makes up a “Christmas bubble”. As children are likely to be spending time with both parents during this period, it is likely that children will be in two Christmas bubbles i.e. each parent’s respective Christmas bubble. This is allowed by law. However, parents should communicate openly and honestly with each other in this respect ensuring that the child is not placed at additional risk at any time i.e. if there are vulnerable persons or high risk persons in any bubble.
Thereafter, subject to any court order which is place defining the arrangements, parents should take steps to agree such arrangements which are in the best interests of their child.
Consideration should be given to a number of factors such as: what the arrangements were last year, if the child spent Christmas with one parent, should Christmas be spent with the other parent this year? Can arrangements be agreed so that the child spends a full special Christmas day with each parent enabling them to relax and enjoy the time? Do the arrangements allow for the child to spend time with their sibling(s)? In respect of older children, do they have a particular view on what they would like to do?
Ultimately, if parents cannot decide upon the arrangements then the court can make decisions on behalf of parents. However, due to the significant backlog of cases caused by court closures due to the pandemic, the court lists are simply too full to deal with these types of disputes. It is important now as ever for parents to build effective co-parenting relationships and reach decisions together based upon what is best for their children. In the event that parents need assistance in helping them reach decisions then a good starting point is mediation.
Discussions should take place as far in advance as possible, so that the arrangements can be communicated to the children enabling them to look forward to their time with each parent during the special festive period.