Consent order or variation to existing ??

[chillipepper2892]

Hello everyone, I have a question regarding child contact arrangements. My ex-partner and I have a child contact arrangements order in place from a few years ago, but we recently agreed to make some changes to the schedule to better accommodate our child's needs. We have both signed a written agreement outlining the new arrangements. Should I apply for a variation to the existing order or a consent order? Thank you in advance for your help

If you are both in agreement, you don't need to do anything. You can simply ignore the order and do what you have agreed. If you think it is necessary for your agreement to be incorporated into the Child Arrangements Order, you should apply to vary the existing order.

Ok thank you and yes as I've worked very hard to get things to where we are and want to protect that with something legally binding

You can always take the agreement to a mediator, get it properly worded and then send it into court to be signed off. A solicitor can do this too. You could approach a solicitors firm who have an un house mediator.

Why a mediator? It is not their function to draw up a court order - they would always advise the parties to seek legal advice when it reaches that stage. The mediator has no role where the parties are already in agreement.

I hope you're not an actual McKenzie friend offering advice as you do not appear to have much knowledge of the workings of the legal system.

@Collaborate - many trained mediators can help draft the first draft of a consent order. This can then either be presented to the court to be signed off, or alternatively one can take it to a solicitor, meaning the solicitor won't need to do as much work on it ergo less fees.

They would only do that where they have been involved in the negotiations. This is not the case for OP.

To answer the question fully, @chillipepper2892, any variation to the existing Order would require a C100 application (child arrangements order), and the end result would be a consent order. Hope this helps.

@McKenzieFriend001 thanks for your reply . I'm confused though . I know it's a c100 but am I applying for variation of existing order or applying for a consent order ?

And in my original post I should have put * we will both (hopefully) be signing a new agreement

In your position I would tick yes for previous proceedings (and fill in section 7 of the C100) and also yes for formalising an agreement (and attach the agreement). This is where I suggested approaching a mediator to help put together the first draft for you, which you can then send to the court to sign off.