Specialist Court Orders for Child Arrangements

When you are involved in a family law dispute and require a child arrangements order to set out with whom your child lives, and how you can spend time together, that order may be only one piece of the puzzle. In cases involving complex concerns, such as mental health, safety, or a high-conflict disagreement, the family court has the power to make other orders to determine what is best for your child.

These orders are specific directions intended to provide the judge with expert, objective evidence to help them make a decision. Understanding these specialist orders is essential to ensuring the court makes a decision based on facts rather than just allegations.

In this blog, we highlight the most common orders that you might encounter:

An order for drug and alcohol testing

If concerns have been raised regarding substance misuse by either parent, the court will not rely on guesswork when it comes to safeguarding your child. Instead, it can order forensic testing to provide a clear, biological record of a parent's alleged substance use history.

The most common method is hair strand testing, which can track drug or alcohol markers over several months, and so is best when testing for long-term substance use. Hair from the head is preferred but hair from other body areas can also be used. Other forms of testing can include urine samples or blood tests.

The benefit, if you are a parent facing false accusations, is that these orders offer a way to evidence sobriety. If you are a concerned parent, they provide the peace of mind that your child is not being placed in a high-risk environment.

The results are presented to the court as an expert report, which carries significant weight in determining issues, such as whether contact with a child should be supervised or unrestricted.

Ordering a report by a psychologist or psychiatrist

Sometimes, the court needs to look beneath the surface of a conflict to understand the reason behind certain concerning behaviours and the impact on your child. This could be relevant to either parent, or the child involved. In such circumstances, a judge can order an assessment by a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist.

• A psychiatric assessment.  You may have raised a concern about the other parent’s mental health and that you are unsure whether your child will be at risk of harm in their care. These assessments can focus on whether a parent has an undiagnosed mental health condition and, crucially, how that condition affects their ability to parent safely.
• A psychological assessment. These often look at the dynamic between the family members, investigating issues like attachment bonds or whether a child is being unfairly influenced by one parent. It may be that your child is displaying worrying behaviours and, from your perspective, is resisting being in your care for no good reason. The underlying causes can be identified by such an expert, through spending time with your child and using specialist techniques to get to the bottom of things.

These assessments are not about blame; they are about finding solutions to promote safe and healthy relationships for your child. The expert might go on to recommend specific therapies that could eventually help you reunite or move forward in a constructive way.

Appointing a children’s guardian

In the most difficult or intractable cases, the family court may decide that the child needs their own independent voice. This is done by making the child a separate party to the proceedings and appointing a children’s guardian.

A guardian is commonly appointed by the court in cases of extreme conflict, where there are complex allegations of harm, or where the child’s own wishes are being lost in the parents' dispute. This may resonate with you if you are in similar circumstances. The appointment ensures that your child's welfare remains the central focus of the entire case.

The guardian is a professional, usually from the organisation that works with the court in children cases which is called Cafcass (Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service). Their role is to independently represent your child’s best interests, and the guardian will instruct their own solicitor to speak for your child in the court proceedings. It is important to know that this does not mean that your child will attend court hearings and give their own evidence. In some cases, a judge may wish to speak to your child, but this is normally done in their private offices and away from courtroom settings.

The guardian will normally prepare a report for the court, with their recommendations as to the orders they believe the court ought to make for your child.

Who decides if an order is needed?

If both parents agree that a specialist order is needed to move the case forward, the court will endorse this as long as it is a necessary and proportionate step. However, if you and the other parent are in dispute over the suggestion of an order, the judge will hear arguments from you both and ultimately take a decision in the best interests of your child.

Who pays?

The instruction of an expert comes at a cost, and you and the other parent will have to meet this cost yourselves.

The exception is the appointment of a guardian, as they already work for Cafcass and their solicitor will normally be funded by legal aid. In cases where there is a guardian on board and another expert is required, such as a child psychologist, the guardian can share the cost of this with both parents.   

How we can help

Specialist orders in your child arrangements case can sometimes feel intrusive, but they are designed to bring clarity to the court, so that the best decisions can be made for your child. If you believe your case requires expert evidence, or if you are facing an application for one of these orders, it is vital to seek legal advice to ensure you have a sound understanding of what it means for you, and so that the scope of the expert's work is fair and relevant to your family's needs.

For further information, please contact a legal adviser in our family law team.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.