SIO/CAO

[nomoretether]

If someone has existing proceedings for a child arrangements order for contact with a child, can they add on a request for the court to consider double barrelling that child's surname so the child becomes Firstname parent1surname-parent2surname? Contact application has been ongoing for the last year. SIO request for change to surname is as a result of more recent developments. Child is currently Firstname parent1surname.

Or would it need to be submitted as a new application (with mediation and fee?)

It's the applicant of the CAO that would also like the SIO if that makes a difference. In which case would it then be "combined" with CAO hearings or would there be a separate hearing?

In a word, yes.

All of the applications you mention are `Section 8' applications and apply to the Children Act. Under this Act the court can make any order it feels to be in the best interests of the child - be it an application that has just been made or one that hasn't (and the court wants to make).

For the part of the litigants it is simply their job to convince the court one way or the other that such an order is (or isn't!) in the best interests of the child.

That said, I have known courts to tell an applicant they DO have to submit another fee in and make another application in. I have also known enforcement hearings to change to variation ones (common!) and contact application to change to residence (well...under the new names for these nowadays).

Only caveat is that anyone considering change their application should be prepared to explain to the court why what they considered in the best interests of the child is now something entirely different.

Thanks lostdad, that really helps. Seems like it's worth a shot. Have had a search for case law but nothing really seems to fit so will just have to see how it goes.