Family Law Solicitors
If you are separating and need to sort out arrangements for your children, our child law solicitors act for parents, grandparents and other family members across Staffordshire, from our offices in Stafford and Rugeley. We help you agree where your children live, how they spend time with each parent, and the decisions that affect them, keeping conflict and upheaval to a minimum.
The welfare of your children comes first in everything we do. We offer all new clients a free 30-minute consultation to talk through your situation.
We help with:
• Child arrangements: where your children live and how time is shared with each parent
• Parental responsibility: who has it, and applications to acquire it
• Specific issue and prohibited steps orders: resolving or preventing decisions such as schooling, medical treatment or removal from the area
• Child maintenance: how it fits with the wider arrangements
• Grandparents and wider family: see our grandparents' rights service
Speak to a child law solicitor today
Would you like a free 30-minute, no-obligation consultation with one of our child law solicitors?
Call us on 01785 603060 (Stafford) or 01889 803080 (Rugeley), or book your free 30-minute consultation online.
Pickering & Butters is one of Staffordshire's longest-established legal firms, and our family law team brings many years of experience to child arrangements of every kind, from straightforward agreements to the most difficult, contested cases.
We know that decisions about children are never just a legal exercise. They are personal, often emotional, and they matter for years to come. That is why we work constructively wherever we can, and why a named solicitor handles your matter from day one.
We are a specialist family team acting for families across Staffordshire from our Stafford and Rugeley offices, and a Resolution member firm, committed to a constructive, child-focused approach. We are also Lexcel accredited by the Law Society for practice management and client care, and our collaborative law trained solicitors are on hand for those who want to stay out of court.
A named solicitor handles your matter from day one, and we offer a free 30-minute consultation before you commit to anything.
Your matter is handled by our family law team, led by Donna Nicholls, Partner and Head of the Family Department.
Pickering & Butters LLP is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (Stafford ID 508758; Rugeley ID 510208). We advise on the law of England and Wales.
A child arrangements order sets out where your children live and when they spend time with each parent, and it can also cover phone and video contact. Most parents reach these arrangements by agreement, often with help from a solicitor or mediator; a court order is for where agreement is not possible.
Before you can apply to court, you will usually need to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) to see whether mediation could resolve matters first. We explain when that applies and guide you through it.
For the detail of how child arrangements orders work, see our child arrangements orders page.
Parental responsibility is the legal authority to make important decisions about a child, such as schooling, medical treatment and where they live. A child's mother has it automatically. So does a father married to the mother, or a same-sex spouse or civil partner who is a legal parent, for example following fertility treatment at a licensed clinic.
An unmarried father or partner can usually acquire it by being named on the birth certificate, by agreement, or by court order. We advise on who holds it and how to acquire it where needed.
Where parents cannot agree on a single important decision, the court can help:
• A specific issue order decides a particular question, such as which school a child attends or whether they can receive a specific medical treatment.
• A prohibited steps order prevents a parent from taking a particular action, such as removing a child from the country or moving them away without agreement.
We advise on whether an application is likely to succeed and represent you if one is needed.
Child maintenance is usually arranged through the Child Maintenance Service, but it can be agreed directly between parents and it often sits alongside the wider arrangements and any financial settlement.
We help you understand how it fits the overall picture; for the financial settlement on divorce, see our divorce financial settlement solicitors page.
Court should be a last resort for most families. We are trained in constructive, out-of-court approaches:
• Mediation: a neutral mediator helps you and the other parent reach your own agreement, with us advising you alongside.
• Collaborative law: you each instruct a collaboratively-trained solicitor and resolve matters in round-table meetings.
These are quicker, less expensive and far less stressful for everyone, especially the children. See our mediation and collaborative law options.
Ideally the parents do, by agreement. Where they cannot agree, either parent can apply to the family court for a child arrangements order, and the court decides based on what is in the child's best interests. Most cases are resolved without a contested hearing.
It is the legal right and duty to make important decisions about your child, such as schooling, medical care and where they live. Mothers have it automatically, as do married fathers and same-sex spouses or civil partners who are legal parents (for example following fertility treatment at a licensed clinic); unmarried fathers or partners usually gain it through the birth certificate, an agreement, or a court order.
Parents have a legal duty to support their children financially. Maintenance is usually calculated through the Child Maintenance Service, though it can be agreed directly. It is separate from, but often considered alongside, the wider arrangements.
Usually not. Most arrangements are agreed through discussion or mediation, and you will normally be expected to consider mediation (a MIAM) before any court application. Court is a last resort where agreement is not possible or a child is at risk.
Often, yes, though grandparents usually need the court's permission to apply. See our grandparents' rights page for detail.
If you need to sort out arrangements for your children, early, sensible advice protects both you and them. Book a free 30-minute consultation for clear, practical guidance on where you stand.
Book your free 30-minute consultation
Call our Stafford office on 01785 603060 or our Rugeley office on 01889 803080, or make an enquiry online.
There is no pressure to proceed. This is simply your chance to understand your options and decide on your next steps at your own pace.
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