Summer holidays are often a matter of contention in the Family Court, as being the longest break in the year for the children to spend time with parents outside of school. For this reason, it is advisable that parents seek to agree and plan the holidays as far in advance as possible, to prevent animosity or litigation being required to resolve this dispute.

You should inform your former partner of your summer holiday plans, and the relevant details that they would be expected to know, such as where you are going, the dates of travel and who is attending with you and the child. Most disputes surrounding the summer holidays that need to be resolved in the Family Court are simply to do with parties being unable to communicate, and requiring a solid assurance that they will be kept updated with all relevant information for the benefit of the child in case of emergencies.

If you are unsure where you can take the child on holiday without your partner, you may wish to look at whether you have a Court Order in place which decides on this matter for you. In the absence of a Court Order, parents are generally able to take the children abroad to any destination.

If you are a father and are on the birth certificate for the child, you also have the same rights as above and can take the child abroad as long as you are in receipt of their passport. Again, it is advisable to liaise with your partner about where you intend to travel so that discussions can commence in relation to contact times and when the passport is to be exchanged/returned.

If you have a Court Order in place, and the children ‚live with‚you on the Order, you are able to take the children abroad for up to 4 weeks. However, if you intend to go abroad for longer, you will need to make an ‚application to vary‚at the Court, to vary the Court Order and permit longer travel.

There is no ‚cap‚on the length of time that you can take the child abroad if there is no Court Order, but you must be mindful that any former partner can apply to the Court if there is a concern about you travelling away with the child. The application is known as a ‚Prohibited Steps Order‚ and can prevent any trip abroad if the former partner has concerns. If you book in advance and do not intend to communicate about the same with your former partner, you may be at risk of having to return to Court to explain why the trip is necessary, which may be after the trip is due to take place or at the expense of the fees already paid.

Should you not be able to agree with your partner on the summer holidays, an attempt should be made to discuss and compromise these arrangements for the benefit of the children. Mediation is an appropriate route to pursue if you do not feel that an agreement can be reached, as a proposal can be given to a third party (who would be a trained mediator, independent of both you and your partner) who can then assist in reaching a joint agreement.

Following attempts at discussion and mediation, you are able to make an application to the Court if arrangements remain unresolved. This is known as a ‚Specific Issue Order, which can deal specifically with a holiday or future holidays depending on your circumstances (or to deal with return of a passport). In this Hearing, a Court will consider the view of both parents and the merits to their arguments, and will make a decision based on the overriding principle of the child‚welfare and what would be in their best interests.

Should you agree matters between you or in mediation, there may be no need for a Court Order. However, if you have a significant level of distrust towards your partner or fear that an agreement could be reneged upon, you may wish to consider an application to the Court for a ‚Child Arrangements Order.

This application will invite the Court to make a final Order, which is legally binding, setting out the term-time and holiday arrangements for a child. Of course, it is within the Court‚remit to refuse to grant an Order if there is no benefit to the child by doing so; known as the ‚ Order principle. It is therefore advised that you only apply to the Court if you have a genuine concern that the child‚ arrangements will be halted or changed last-minute and wish to avoid any disruption.

Every case is taken individually, as personal circumstances will differ in each matter and the Court will be required to consider each argument differently. The Court will assess all concerns raised within your matter, and go through the ,welfare checklist‚(contained within the Children Act 1989) which provides a list of considerations that need to be reviewed before making an Order in the child‚ best interests.

Examples of the Court‚considerations are whether changing the child‚circumstances would be harmful, the needs of the child and their wishes and feelings. Of course, a child‚wishes and feelings are only determinative insofar as they are able to understand the long-term consequences of their decisions, therefore this factor only contains more weight as they become older and emotionally mature.

Should the Court consider your matter appropriate for a Child Arrangements Order, this will include the summer holidays. You will need to ensure that you do not book any additional time outside of your time within the Order, unless by express agreement of your other partner who has given consent. It is important that for all holidays, you ensure that indirect contact is maintained between your child and former partner (e.g. FaceTime, Zoom, Skype) if at all possible, and keep your former partner informed of any changes or important information.

If you have reached an agreement, but note that your children have not been returned on the date that they should be from their holiday, you should contact your partner to check when they intend to return home. If there is no agreement to return the child, you will need to apply to the Court and make an urgent application. You may need to seek legal advice from a Family Law solicitor if you are seeking to return the child from an international jurisdiction, when making your application.

If you have any queries or wish to seek further assistance in relation to the summer holidays and the arrangements for your child, please contact a member of the team at Alun Jones Family Law, who will be happy to help you.