CHILDREN MATTERS
Grandparents' Applications for Contact
About Grandparents' Applications for Contact
Grandparents in England and Wales have no free-standing right to see a grandchild, but the family court can make a child arrangements order about the time a child spends with them. Most grandparents must ask the court's permission before the application is heard, and different tests apply at each stage. We advise on both stages and on the agreement that often makes court unnecessary.
Who this is for
- Grandparents who lost contact after a separation, a family argument or a bereavement
- Grandparents who cared for a grandchild regularly and have been stopped without explanation
- Grandparents a grandchild has lived with, who need the arrangement recognised
- Grandparents told social services are involved, who need to know which route applies
How RakLAW helps
- Say honestly whether an application is worth making
- Write to the parents or carers with a specific proposal, so court is the last step
- Deal with the MIAM requirement, or evidence an exemption where one applies
- Prepare the permission request and the C100 with your statement
- Represent you at every hearing and deal with Cafcass on your behalf
- Advise on the separate route where a care order is in force
Where Grandparents Stand in the Law
The order a grandparent asks for is a child arrangements order. Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 defines it as an order regulating arrangements about with whom a child is to live, spend time or otherwise have contact, and when.
Parents, guardians, special guardians, a step-parent with parental responsibility under section 4A and a person named in an order as someone the child lives with may apply for any section 8 order as of right. Grandparents are not on that list, so leave is usually needed: the court may make an order on the application of a person who has obtained the leave of the court. Most grandparents therefore ask for permission first and for contact second. GOV.UK's guide to applying for a court order says a relative such as a grandparent can apply, but it does not mention the permission stage.
Some grandparents are entitled to apply without permission:
- where the child has lived with you for at least three years, which need not be continuous, provided that period began no more than five years before the application and ended no more than three months before it
- where you have the consent section 10 requires, which depends on the case: each person named in an existing order as someone the child lives with, or the local authority if the child is in care, or otherwise everyone with parental responsibility
- where you are a party to a marriage or civil partnership, subsisting or not, and the child is a child of that family
- where the child has lived with you as a relative for at least the year before the application, which entitles you to apply only for an order about who the child lives with, not about contact
The Act's definition of a relative includes a grandparent. Parental responsibility is a different thing again and does not of itself give a right to spend time with a child. Where a special guardianship order is already in force, an application about who the child lives with needs permission even from someone otherwise entitled.
The Permission Stage and the Welfare Test
On a permission application, section 10(9) of the Children Act 1989 requires the court to have particular regard to the nature of the proposed application, the applicant's connection with the child, any risk of that application disrupting the child's life to such an extent that the child would be harmed by it, and, where the child is looked after by a local authority, the authority's plans for the child and the parents' wishes and feelings.
Permission is not a decision about contact: it lets the application be heard. If it is given, the court decides the application itself, with the child's welfare as its paramount consideration.
Where the application is opposed, the court has regard to the welfare checklist: the child's ascertainable wishes and feelings in the light of age and understanding, needs, the likely effect of any change, age, sex, background and relevant characteristics, any harm suffered or risked, how capable each parent and any other relevant person is of meeting those needs, and the court's range of powers. It will not make an order unless that is better for the child than making none.
The presumption that a parent's involvement furthers a child's welfare applies to a parent, because the Act defines who counts as a parent for that purpose. No equivalent presumption assists a grandparent, so the case is made on the evidence.
Evidence and Common Problems
The court works from a picture of the child's life. What helps is detail:
- what the relationship consisted of, how often you saw the child, and when and why it stopped
- a realistic proposal: how often, how long, where, and who else the child would see
- how handovers would work and how you would stay out of any dispute between the parents
- letters, cards or messages showing what you have tried, and any reply
- dates for any period the grandchild lived with you, which may remove the permission stage
Three problems recur. The application reads as a challenge to the parents' authority rather than a proposal about the child. It would put the child in the middle of an argument, which goes to the risk of harmful disruption. Or allegations of harm have never been decided, so the court may need a fact-finding hearing first: see allegations and fact-finding hearings.
A prohibited steps or specific issue order cannot be used to achieve a result a child arrangements order would achieve, so the right application has to be chosen at the start.
How a Grandparent's Application Works
- We write to the parents or carers with a specific proposal. Any agreement can be recorded in a consent order.
- Before applying you must attend a family mediation information and assessment meeting, or MIAM, unless an exemption applies. The exemptions include evidence of domestic abuse, child protection enquiries, urgency and a MIAM about the same dispute in the previous four months.
- The application goes on form C100. GOV.UK says some people need permission from the court and ask for it by completing the relevant section of that form, so the request and the proposed application go in together. A court fee is payable: amounts are on the GOV.UK court fees page, and help with court fees may be available on a low income.
- The court usually serves every person the applicant believes has parental responsibility. Cafcass carries out safeguarding work, including police and local authority checks on the parties, and reports in a safeguarding letter before the first hearing.
- At the first hearing dispute resolution appointment the court considers that information and explores with the parties, with the Cafcass officer's help, whether arrangements can be agreed. Where they can, it can make the order there.
- If they cannot, the court gives directions, which may include a welfare report under section 7 on questions the court specifies, and a fact-finding hearing where allegations must be decided first.
- A dispute resolution appointment narrows what is left, and a final hearing is listed if the case still has to be decided.
The court must consider non-court dispute resolution at every stage and can adjourn proceedings to allow it: see our mediation and out of court options pages.
If Your Grandchild Is in Local Authority Care
A child is in the care of a local authority only where a care order, including an interim care order, is in force. The court cannot then make a section 8 contact order: the only section 8 order available is one about who the child lives with. Contact falls under section 34 instead, and the people the authority must allow the child reasonable contact with are the parents, a guardian or special guardian, a person with parental responsibility under section 4A, anyone named in a child arrangements order as a person the child lived with immediately before the care order, and anyone who then had care of the child under a High Court order. Grandparents are not a category of their own, so a grandparent outside those descriptions needs the court's leave. Where social services are involved but no care order has been made, the private law route above still applies.
A grandparent can apply for a section 34 contact order with the leave of the court, and the court may make whatever contact order it considers appropriate. Where such an application has been refused, another about the same child cannot be made within six months without leave. Our pages on care proceedings and special guardianship orders cover the wider picture. RakLAW Solicitors is privately funded and does not offer legal aid; parents in care proceedings are usually entitled to non-means-tested funding from a legal aid provider, which we do not provide.
When Legal Advice Is Especially Important
Advice is worth taking early where:
- a parent has died and contact now depends on the other side of the family
- allegations of abuse or harm have been made, by you or about you
- social services are involved, or the grandchild is already in care
- the grandchild has lived with you and that arrangement has ended
- the grandchild is moving away, covered by relocation with children, or abroad, where international child contact applies
- an order exists and is ignored, or needs changing: see enforcement of child arrangements orders and variation of child arrangements orders
If anyone in the family is in immediate danger, call 999; the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is 0808 2000 247.
How RakLAW Solicitors Can Help
We advise grandparents from our office at 42 Shad Thames in Southwark, a short walk from Tower Bridge, and we offer a free 15-minute consultation. RakLAW Solicitors was founded by solicitor Rakesh Prajapati, and how we charge for family work is set out on our family law fees page.
We start with an honest view of the permission stage, because a refused application can leave the family position harder. Where the prospects are there we prepare the permission request and the C100 together, draft your statement, deal with Cafcass and represent you at each hearing.
To talk to a family solicitor about a grandchild, call 0203 345 2000 or contact the office.
Frequently asked questions
Do grandparents have a right to see their grandchildren?
There is no free-standing right in the law of England and Wales. The family court can make a child arrangements order about the time a child spends with a grandparent, and most grandparents need the court's permission before that application is heard. Permission turns on the factors in section 10(9); the application itself turns on the child's welfare.
When can a grandparent apply without the court's permission?
Where the child has lived with you for at least three years, which need not be continuous, provided that period began no more than five years before the application and ended no more than three months before it. Consent can also remove it, and section 10 sets out whose consent counts in each case. A relative the child has lived with for the past year can apply without permission, but only for an order about who the child lives with.
What does the court consider when deciding permission?
Section 10(9) of the Children Act 1989 points the court to the nature of the proposed application, your connection with the child, and any risk that the application would disrupt the child's life so much that the child would be harmed. For a looked-after child it also weighs the authority's plans and the parents' wishes.
Do I have to try mediation before I apply to court?
You must attend a family mediation information and assessment meeting first unless an exemption applies, such as evidence of domestic abuse, child protection enquiries or urgency. Attending is not the same as agreeing to mediate, and the mediator may say mediation is not suitable.
Which form do I use to apply for time with a grandchild?
Form C100, the Children Act 1989 application for a child arrangements, prohibited steps or specific issue order. GOV.UK says some people need permission from the court and apply for it by completing the relevant section of that form. You can apply online or by post.
How much does it cost to apply to the family court?
A court fee is payable when the application is issued, and the current amounts are listed on GOV.UK. Help with court fees may be available if you are on a low income or on certain benefits.
Will my grandchild have to come to court?
Usually not. Where the application is opposed the court must consider the child's ascertainable wishes and feelings in the light of age and understanding, and it normally learns them through Cafcass or a welfare report ordered under section 7 rather than from the child in the courtroom.
My grandchild lives with me. What should I apply for?
If the child has lived with you as a relative for the past year you can apply without permission for an order about who the child lives with. Three years of living with you gives a wider entitlement that covers contact too, unless that period ended more than three months before you apply. Where the arrangement is long term, a special guardianship order may fit better.
What if the parents say contact would upset the children?
That goes to both stages. At the permission stage the court weighs the risk of the application disrupting the child's life to the point of harm; at the welfare stage it applies the checklist, including any harm suffered or risked. It will not make an order unless that is better for the child than none.
Can the court stop me from applying again?
Yes. On disposing of an application the court can order that no further application of a specified kind be made about that child without its leave, including where a further application would put the child or another person at risk of harm. If you later ask for leave, the court must consider whether circumstances have materially changed since that order.
Can an order for time with my grandchild last until 18?
Not usually. A section 8 order will not be made to run beyond a child's sixteenth birthday, and cannot be made for a child who has already reached 16, unless the circumstances are exceptional. That duration limit does not apply to an order about who a child lives with.
My grandchild is in care. Can I ask for contact?
Where a care order is in force, including an interim care order, the route is different. The court cannot make a section 8 contact order, and contact falls under section 34 of the Children Act 1989, which names you only if the child lived with you under a child arrangements order or High Court order immediately before the care order. A grandparent can apply with the court's leave. Without a care order, the route above applies.
Speak to a RakLAW Solicitor
Book a confidential consultation with our family law team. We will talk through your situation, explain your options, and set out the practical next steps.
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