The concept of shared care derives from the Child Arrangements Order which was introduced to bring the legislation in line with the changing attitudes towards parenting post separation.
A Child Arrangements Order sets out with whom and when a child is to live and spend time or otherwise have contact. The old terms of “residence” and “contact” orders were replaced with a “live with order” and “spend time with order” with a view to reducing perception that a parent with a “residence order” was in a superior position to the parent who only had contact with the child.
In practice, a shared care order provides that the child shall “live with” either parent. The division of time however depends on individual circumstances of every family and it does not necessarily mean an exact 50/50 split. It is therefore possible for a Child Arrangements Order to state that the child shall live with both parents and the same time allow for more time with one parent than the other.
Shared care is predominantly concerned with the quality of time as opposed to an equal allocation of time. 50/50 arrangements are very rare as it is difficult to reconcile them in practice for example due to work commitments. Shared care may therefore come in different formats to many parents.
Formats of shared care
One way to arrange an equal division of time is on a week on/week off basis. Such arrangements tend to work best with older children who are more independent and have a better understanding of concept of time. In younger children prolonged periods of separation from one parent may cause upset and distress and this therefore should be approached with care.
The alternative arrangement may provide for split weekdays and weekends between the parents and this typically works amongst separated families who live nearby, follow a similar routine and have an easy access to the school. The frequency of handovers however may come with its own challenges as it tends to break up the child’s routine and lead to a confusion. Furthermore, in cases when parents are not on good terms, the exposure to parental conflict becomes more of a risk to the child’s welfare.
The arrangements most favoured by the Court tend to follow a pattern of alternative weekends from Friday after school until either Sunday evening or Monday morning with some form of additional mid-week contact to bridge the gap inbetween the alternate weekends. Although the division of time is unequal it enables both parents to have a quality time with the child over the entire weekend and the other parent to maintain continuity of care.
Considerations for the court
The arrangements for shared care and the division of time depend on what the Court considers appropriate having regard to the welfare checklist as well as practical aspects like the nature of sleeping arrangements, suitability of accommodation, geographical location of each parent and the distance from the school and the wider family network. Recent case law also suggests that it is no longer a requirement for parents to be on good terms to make shared care a workable arrangement. If this is considered to be in a child’s best interests, then the relationship between the parents should not affect the making of a shared live with order.