It is an incredibly stressful and upsetting time when a parent is refusing to return a child back to your care. If the parent who is retaining the child does not have parental responsibility for the child, the police will be able to recover your child and return them to your care.
However, if the parent has parental responsibility for the child, the police will not be able to assist as the other parent will be exercising their parental responsibility.
Mother’s automatically have parental responsibility for their children. The most common ways a Father can obtain parental responsibility are :-
- By being married to the mother at the time of birth
- By being named on the child’s birth certificate
- By entering into a Parental Responsibility Agreement with the mother
- By obtaining a Parental Responsibility Order from the court
- By being named as the person whom the child lives with under a Child Arrangements Order.
If you are unsure if you hold parental responsibility for your child, you should seek legal advice.
If you find yourself in a situation where the other parent is refusing to return the child to your care, you will need to make an application to the Court seeking the return of the child to you. Within your application, you will need to request a Specific Issue Order, which is normally accompanied with a request for a Prohibited Steps Order, in these circumstances.
A Specific Issue Order, as suggested by the name, deals with a specific matter or issue that has arisen in connection with a child, where parents with parental responsibility do not agree. Therefore, you will need to request this order from the Court for your child to be returned. In relation to a Prohibited Steps Order, this order prohibits a party from exercising some of their parental responsibility. A Prohibited Steps Order can be made to prohibit the other parent from removing your child from your care and control or the care of an institution, such as a nursery or a school, to whom you have entrusted the care of your child.
Once a Specific Issue Order has been made for the return of your child, the order will specify when the other parent must return your child. However, if your child has not been returned by the other parent by the time and date stated within the order without a reasonable excuse, there are other steps you can take. You can apply for enforcement of the Order. This is an Order made by the Court to ensure that the parent in breach of the Order complies with it. The court will only make an Enforcement Order if it is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the parent has failed to comply with the existing Order. If the Court finds that the parent who was breached the order is in contempt of court this can result in sanctions such as imprisonment, fines and seizure of assets.
You can also request that the Court grant a Search and Return Order. This Order authorises the search for, taking charge of, and the delivery of a child; which means that the police may use reasonable force to execute the order if necessary. As with all applications to the Court however, before making any Orders, the Court must be satisfied that to make such an Order is in the best interests of the child to do so.
This area of law can be difficult to understand therefore, if you require assistance, please contact us so that we can provide you with legal advice and representation.