Children

In England and Wales, the Child Maintenance Service is responsible for calculating and collecting child maintenance. They only have jurisdiction in England and Wales which means they cannot make an assessment against your ex who lives abroad.

There's a possibility that you could claim maintenance by making a claim under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989, but these claims are often only proportionate if the other party is very wealthy. Any court order to pay maintenance may also struggle to be enforced in a foreign country.

The best way to seek maintenance from your ex would be to use the CMS online calculator to check what may be due if they were in England and Wales, and then seek to agree this between you. Mediation, which can be conducted virtual

Parental alienation exists when a child, without any good reason, rejects one parent completely. Most often (although not always) this rejection follows the child’s parents separating. The rejection is spurred on by one parent (the alienating parent) and results in the complete relationship breakdown between the child and the other parent (the alienated parent). It is very different to a child who turns against a parent because of genuine harm or abuse. 

Once a child is alienated from a parent, it is a long road to help them to recover. It is important for parents to remember that children see themselves as a part of each parent. If one parent is denigrated without good reason, it can affect a child’s self-esteem and lifelong outcomes. 

Our team of specialist children lawyers have experience of supporting parents who have been alienated from a child. We work with professional support networks to support you through the process of helping to undo any alienating actions brought about by your ex.

The law only requires one parent with parental responsibility to provide consent for medical treatment for a child. However, in practice, where parents both have parental responsibility but don’t agree, a doctor is unlikely to want to go against one parent’s express wishes. So how can this situation be resolved?

• Talk. Remember that the best interests of your child comes first, whatever conflict may be taking place between you and your ex. Try and take the time to each listen to each other’s viewpoints and seek the expert opinion of the clinician involved. Remember that health professionals are only concerned with the welfare of your child. Mediation may be a useful tool to help you and your ex to communicate more effectively and work towards an agreement. 
• Involve your child. In some cases, a child under the age of 16 may be considered competent to consent to medical treatment provided they have the intelligence and understanding to appreciate what the medical treatment will involve. 
• If you and your ex are still unable to reach a consensus, then the decision may have to be taken by the doctor caring for your child. This could well involve a court application meaning the court will make the decision based on what is in your child’s best interests. Particularly if the dispute is over an elective procedure (for example, circumcision for religious purposes) then a doctor will not proceed with the procedure without a court order. 

However, in an emergency, and where treatment is time critical and waiting to obtain consent would place your child at risk, remember that medical treatment can proceed without consent from either you or your ex.