Children overview

This is the most important section of the site. It covers the practical and the emotional side of children after separation, in plain English, and it’s built around one idea: putting the children first, including in how you behave.

Start wherever fits your situation:

• Where the kids will live: how child arrangements work, mediation, and the approach that actually works in front of the family court.
• Helping children through separation: what helps children cope, and what quietly harms them.
• Talking it through with the other parent: how to message so arrangements actually get agreed, drawn from real experience.
• Parental responsibility: what it is, who has it, and how to get it if you don’t.
• Child maintenance and the CMS: how maintenance is worked out, including the overnight reductions.
• Handovers and routines that work: calm handovers and steady routines across two homes.
• School, staying in the loop: your right to school information, and how to stay involved.
• Holidays and taking a child abroad: consent, passports, and what to do if you fear abduction.

Every page is information, not legal advice, and points you to the official and regulated sources at the end.