What age will a court listen to a child?

What age will a court listen to a child?

If the question of who the child is to live with has to be resolved through court proceedings, then the courts will start to place weight on a child’s wishes when they are considered competent to understand the situation. This can be around the age of 12 or 13 but varies on the circumstances.

Can a child write a letter to a judge?

Can my child write a letter or a Declaration to the Judge? The answer is usually, no. If your child writes a letter or a Declaration to the Judge, the Judge will not read it nor will it be accepted by the court.

What goes into a Section 7 report?

An Independent Social Worker provides an independent evaluation and assessment of a situation and reports the findings to the Court. A Section 7 Report needs to contain background information and the key facts and evidence that the child’s needs have been considered in accordance with the Welfare Checklist.

What are section 7 expenses?

Section 7 expenses are support amounts payable for a child in addition to the base child support that is payable. Section 7 expenses are ordered by the court. They can include childcare expenses; medical, dental and other health-related expenses; and health insurance premiums.

Why is a section 7 report needed?

Why is a Cafcass section 7 report needed in child proceedings? A section 7 report is usually required when the court has requested for this to be commissioned either by Cafcass or the social services to assist them in reaching a decision on a child proceedings case concerning the welfare of a child.

Do cafcass do unannounced visits?

You are unlikely to have a home visit before the first hearing. Only people who are parties to the case will be interviewed. If one of the parties wants to submit a statement from a third person, then they can do so and it becomes part of their case.

Do judges go against cafcass?

The Officer will normally only attend court if directed to do so by the Judge. If there are aspects of the report which you disagree with, you should consider asking the Judge to direct that the CAFCASS Officer attend court so they may be questioned on their written evidence (the Section 7 Report).

What is Section 17 of the Children’s Act 1989?

Under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, social services have a general duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need in their area. Section 17 can be used to assist homeless children together with their families. Social services can provide accommodation for a whole family under section 17.

Can I refuse a child in need plan?

Consent. Specialist Children’s Services works with children in need and their families on the basis of consent. If parents refuse consent after the Social Worker has made sure that they have been given full information about the benefits of assessment and support, this refusal should be accepted and recorded.

What is Section 11 of the Children’s Act?

Section 11 of the Children Act 2004. Places duties on a range of organisations, agencies and individuals to ensure their functions, and any services that they contract out to others, are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

What is Section 22 of the Children’s Act?

22 General duty of local authority in relation to children looked after by them. (b)to make such use of services available for children cared for by their own parents as appears to the authority reasonable in his case.