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With the summer holiday period fast approaching, many families will have booked or will be planning their trips to warmer climes. For separated families, very low down the list (and more often than not, not even on the list at all), is the thought that permission might need to be obtained from the other parent before entering the departures lounge at Heathrow.
In order for separated families to travel abroad for a holiday with the children, the consent of the other parent is almost always required. If the other parent shares Parental Responsibility, and/or if anyone else holds Parental Responsibility, there must be agreement to go on holiday. In the absence of agreement an offence of child abduction could be committed as well as breaching the obligations a parent has under the Children Act 1989. Hence what many families don't worry about very much at all can lead to potential significant problems if the "aggrieved" party raises an objection at the last minute.
The court will always encourage parents to agree arrangements to allow each other to take the children abroad for the purposes of a holiday. If you are fortunate enough to be on amicable terms with your ex-spouse or ex-partner then an informal agreement may suffice however it is often sensible, certainly if reaching agreement has not been straightforward, to record the agreement in writing and take it with you.
The important thing is to be prepared and to make plans early. This isn't always ideal if you are looking to book a last minute deal to get the most competitive price, but will often solve the upset that being stopped from going on the holiday would cause. You might need to check which parent holds the children's passports - do they need to be renewed? Sharing details of exactly where you will be staying, contact numbers and flight times are all important things to consider and sometimes providing these from the offset can avoid difficulties in agreeing matters later on.
Unless there is a reason why it would be in the children's best interests to go on the trip then in most circumstances the court will allow the holiday to proceed. If the parties cannot agree, an application to the court will be necessary but it is important to be aware that proceedings can take weeks and often months to be dealt with - so it is vital to plan ahead and anticipate any problems before they arise.
If you are involved in a dispute like this, or would just like to find out more information to see if this is something we can help with, please contact Stephens Scown. Our family solicitors are accredited specialists in family law who will be pleased to help.
Ed Bidder is a paralegal in the Stephens Scown Family team of solicitors. Stephens Scown has offices in Exeter, Truro and St Austell. Its family solicitors advise clients on a wide range of family law issues including divorce, contact, residence, and care proceedings.
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