Determining where children live

What is happening

Disputes most often arise on divorce: both parents want the child to live with them, and both sincerely believe they are the better option. The court, however, looks not at who is right in the adults' conflict but at the child's attachments, living conditions and each parent's ability to care for them.

Another situation: one parent has taken the child and is blocking contact, has moved to another city, or no longer says where the child is. Then, alongside residence, contact arrangements are urgently needed, including for the duration of the case.

A third: residence was decided long ago, but things have changed. The child is older and wants to live with the other parent, or the parent they live with has run into serious difficulties. An earlier judgment does not prevent the question being raised again.

What the law says

• Where parents live apart, where the children live is decided by agreement between them or, failing that, by the court in the children's interests and taking their views into account (the Family Code).
• The court considers the child's attachment to each parent and to siblings, the child's age, the parents' moral and personal qualities, their relationship with the child and their ability to provide for the child's upbringing. Higher income alone does not give either parent an advantage.
• The court must take into account the views of a child aged ten or over, unless that would be contrary to the child's interests.
• The guardianship authority takes part in the case: it inspects living conditions with each parent and gives the court its opinion. A psychological or combined psychological and psychiatric assessment is often ordered.
• A parent living apart has the right to contact with the child. While the dispute is pending, the court, with the guardianship authority involved, may decide on an interim basis where the child lives and how contact with the other parent works.
• Parents can reach agreement on residence and contact with the help of a mediator under Federal Law No. 193-FZ of 27 July 2010 "On the Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedure with the Participation of a Mediator (Mediation Procedure)"; in these cases courts often suggest it.

What we do

• We get to grips with the family situation and give you an honest assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of your position.
• We prepare you for the guardianship authority's home visit and for meetings with psychologists: what they will assess and which documents are worth showing.
• We gather evidence: reports from nursery and school, medical records, and information on who actually looks after the child day to day.
• We prepare the claim or the defence, and applications for interim contact arrangements and for an expert assessment.
• We represent you in court and before the guardianship authority, and question experts and specialists.
• Where the parents are ready to agree, we draft a settlement on residence and a contact schedule.
• After judgment we follow enforcement through the bailiffs if the other parent does not comply.

What we will need from you

• The children's birth certificates and marriage or divorce documents.
• Housing documents: ownership or tenancy, and the conditions the child will live in.
• Reports from nursery, school and clubs, and the child's medical records.
• Details of your work and schedule: who can look after the child and when.
• Correspondence with the other parent, and any reports to the police or the guardianship authority if there have been conflicts.