Child arrangements order - anyone know what a recital is?

[Inarightpickleandpreserve]

Hi, so there’s 2 sections on the order, one has a list of things agreed, one of which is that the children will live with their mother in XXX location

After that it says: the court orders, followed by the arrangement for contact.

If the children (aged 10 & 13) wanted and had been talking about for 2 years to move and live with the other parent, is it the case that the first bit is not actually legally enforceable? So although they live with their mother, if the other parent was to say that they want to stay here they not leaving, the mother could enforce them to return to her house?
Or is it just the bit that says ‘the court orders’ that is the enforceable bit?

Anyone have any knowledge on this? I will speak to the solicitor but I wondered if anyone had any personal experience they could share?

I believe the “Recitals” includes things that were discussed or agreed upon that the court can’t actually issue an order for - there’s a limited amount of things the court can legally order. Recitals can also serve as a record of what was discussed and what evidence was seen/heard etc. My understanding is that the “Court Orders” is the legally enforceable bit.

The recital sets the useful background to the order but is not meant to be wordy or comprehensive. Often used to record the parties have agreed to this and that, such as method of communication and eg who else can be present during contact. All agreed but nothing truly enforceable.

I am confused by the 3rd paragraph of your post. Are you saying you want the initial position of one of the parties, which has now been abandoned, to be included in the recitals?

The 'list of things agreed' sounds as though it is the recital. As PPs have said, this means a record of what's been discussed and agreed. It's not meant to be enforceable, because it's meant to set out things that aren't in dispute.

But your post suggest that the children's residence is not agreed. It sounds as though you want the children's residence to be changed (and this may be because you say it's what the children want).
So even though the recital could not be enforced, it changes the basis of that order, as place of residence is now in dispute and is no longer agreed.

You should not try to change children's residence unilaterally. If you want to change it you should discuss with the other parent and take it to court if you can't agree. If you simply keep the children after contact, you can expect to receive an order from the court telling you that you must return them pronto, and go through the proper process.