Types of court orders you can apply for in the UK family court

When your family life falls apart, you need answers, fast. Can you stop your ex from taking your child abroad? How do you get protection from an abusive partner? What happens to your home during a separation? The UK family court provides specific orders designed to resolve these exact situations, from custody disputes to eviction matters and maintenance claims. Each order exists because someone like you needed urgent help. For your specific circumstances, a specialist family law solicitor will ensure you take the right steps.

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Child arrangements orders: Deciding what’s best for your children

When parents separate, the biggest question becomes: where will your child live and who will they see? Child arrangements orders replace the old terms “custody” and “access” in the UK, providing legally binding decisions about your child’s future.

1. Living arrangements

This determines where your child will actually live on a day-to-day basis:

• Primary residence: The order specifies which parent your child lives with most of the time, formerly known as residential custody.
• Shared care: Courts can approve arrangements where your child splits time equally or proportionally between both parents’ homes.
• Grandparents and relatives: Extended family members can apply for living arrangements if they’ve had significant involvement in your child’s life.

2. Contact and visitation rights

This covers when and how your child spends time with the parent they don’t live with:

• Spending time with: This defines when your child sees the non-resident parent, including weekdays, weekends, holidays, and special occasions.
• Indirect contact: When direct meetings aren’t suitable, courts may order phone calls, video chats, or supervised contact centres.
• Enforcement powers: If a parent breaches the order by denying contact, the court can impose fines or even change living arrangements.

3. Specific issue orders

These resolve one particular disagreement when parents can’t reach agreement themselves:

• Common issues: Medical treatment choices, school selection, religious upbringing, or whether your child can have a passport.
• International travel: These orders frequently prevent one parent from taking your child abroad without consent.

4. Prohibited steps orders

These stop a parent from taking specific actions without court permission first:

• Travel restrictions: The most common use prevents your child being removed from the UK or relocated within England and Wales.
• Medical procedures: Courts can prohibit controversial treatments unless both parents agree or the court approves.

Non-molestation and occupation orders: Securing your safety

When you’re facing threats or abuse from a family member or partner, waiting isn’t an option. The UK family court provides immediate protection through orders designed to stop harassment and secure your home.

1. Non-molestation orders

This order legally prohibits someone from using violence, intimidation, or harassment against you:

• Wide protection scope: The order covers physical violence, threatening behaviour, and psychological abuse affecting you or your child.
• Criminal consequences: Breaching a Non-Molestation Order is a criminal offence carrying up to five years in prison; police will arrest the perpetrator immediately.
• No contact provisions: The order can ban all communication, including phone calls, text messages, social media contact, and approaching your home or workplace.

2. Occupation orders and housing rights

This determines who can live in the family home and can exclude an abusive partner completely:

• Immediate eviction: The court can order your abusive partner to leave the property, even if they own or rent it.
• Balance of harm test: Judges weigh the harm you and your child would suffer by staying against the harm the abuser faces if excluded.
• Ancillary powers: Courts can order the abuser to pay rent or mortgage maintenance even while excluded from the property.

3. Emergency applications

When you’re in immediate danger, the court can grant protection within hours:

• Without notice applications: If there’s urgent risk, you can apply without telling the abuser beforehand; the court decides the same day.
• Automatic restraining measures: Emergency orders immediately prohibit contact and can exclude the abuser from your home before a full hearing.

Financial orders: Dividing assets and securing support

Money matters don’t disappear when relationships end; they often become the most contentious issue. The UK family court has powers to divide assets fairly and ensure ongoing financial support.

1. Maintenance payments for children and spouses

These orders ensure regular financial support continues after separation:

• Child maintenance priority: The court prioritises your child’s needs above all else, calculating payments based on the paying parent’s income.
• Spousal maintenance: Former spouses may receive ongoing payments to cover living expenses, particularly if they sacrificed careers for family responsibilities.
• Enforcement mechanisms: Courts can order automatic deductions from wages, freeze bank accounts, or seize assets if payments are deliberately avoided.

2. Property and pension sharing

This divides the major assets accumulated during your relationship:

• Matrimonial home: Courts decide whether to order an immediate sale, transfer possession to one party, or delay sale until children reach adulthood.
• Pension sharing orders: Your ex-partner’s pension can be split immediately, giving you an independent retirement fund.
• Factors considered: Length of marriage, both parties’ earning capacity, contributions (including homemaking), age, health, and your child’s needs all influence division.

3. Lump sum orders

These provide one-off payments to achieve fair financial settlement:

• Housing deposits: Lump sums often fund the lower-earning spouse’s new home possession, ensuring both parties have secure accommodation.
• Enforcement rights: Unpaid lump sums accrue interest and can be enforced through charging orders against property.

Possession orders: Resolving property disputes

Property disputes during family breakdowns can leave you wondering who has the right to stay in the home. Possession orders provide legal clarity when informal arrangements fail.

1. When possession orders apply in family cases

• Sole ownership disputes: When one person owns the property but the other refuses to leave, possession orders enforce the legal owner’s rights.
• Joint ownership breakdown: Even joint owners can apply for possession if the relationship has irretrievably broken down.
• Children’s welfare: Courts consider where your child lives and their schooling needs before granting possession.

2. Eviction proceedings in domestic situations

This process legally removes someone from the family home when they refuse to leave voluntarily:

• Court application required: You cannot physically remove a family member yourself; only court bailiffs can enforce eviction after a judge grants the order.
• Domestic abuse context: Eviction orders work alongside non-molestation and occupation orders to permanently remove abusive partners from the UK family home.
• Warrant for possession: After the order is granted, you must apply for a warrant which authorises bailiffs to physically remove the occupant.

Other family injunctions and protective measures

Beyond standard orders, the UK family court provides specialised protection for vulnerable individuals facing unique threats.

1. Restraining orders in family proceedings

These prohibit specific behaviours and contact following family court proceedings:

• Geographic exclusion zones: Orders can ban the perpetrator from entering specific areas; your street, your workplace, your child’s school.
• Duration and breach: Orders last until a specified date or indefinitely; breaching them is a criminal offence punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.

2. Forced marriage protection orders

These prevent someone from being coerced into marriage against their will:

• Immediate protection: Courts can issue emergency orders within hours if there’s evidence someone faces being taken abroad.
• Passport seizure: Orders can require surrendering passports and prevent the Passport Office from issuing new documents.
• Criminal sanctions: Forcing someone into marriage is a criminal offence in the UK carrying up to seven years’ imprisonment.

3. Female genital mutilation protection orders

These safeguard girls and women from FGM and provide urgent intervention powers:

• Preventative protection: Courts issue orders before FGM occurs when there’s risk a child might be taken abroad or subjected to the practice in the UK.
• Immediate travel bans: Orders can confiscate passports, prevent airport departure, and alert Border Force.
• Serious criminal offence: Performing FGM carries up to 14 years’ imprisonment; taking someone abroad for FGM is equally punishable under UK law.

FAQs

Can social services take my child without a court order?

No, except in emergencies. Police can use police protection for up to 72 hours, or social services can obtain an emergency protection order lasting 8 days. After this, they must get a court order to keep your child.

Can social services stop me seeing my child without a court order?

No, social services cannot legally prevent contact without a court order, but they can recommend supervised visits if they believe your child is at risk.

Can my ex stop me from seeing my child without a court order?

Your ex can refuse contact without a child arrangements order in place. Apply to the UK family court for a custody order that legally enforces your rights.

UK family court orders, from child custody and protection measures to eviction and maintenance, exist to resolve your crisis quickly. Choosing the right order safeguards your child’s welfare, your safety, and your financial future when family life breaks down.

Protect your rights!

Qredible’s network of family law solicitors secure child arrangements, protection orders, and fair financial settlements across the UK.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Child arrangements orders determine where your child lives, visitation schedules, and prevent unauthorised relocations, with custody decisions prioritising your child’s welfare in the UK family court.
• Protection orders provide immediate safety through non-molestation and occupation orders, enabling emergency eviction of abusive partners with restraining measures backed by criminal penalties.
• Financial orders divide assets fairly through maintenance payments, possession settlements, and pension sharing, with enforcement powers ensuring compliance across all family financial matters.