Shared Care

Shared Care With Parents Family Law

Shared care means children spending an approximately equal amount of time with each parent, and that may be on an alternating week basis, or on some form of part of the week with each parent. Parents may consider this “fair” because they both have the children with them for an equal amount of time. For some children, this arrangement can suit their needs perfectly, particularly where the parents live nearby to each other and are able to cooperate with things like forgotten homework and school uniforms. However for some children this means that they may feel as though they are in a constant state of travel without one place they can call “home”. For others, especially younger children, a week away from a parent who has until then been their primary attachment, can seem like a lifetime.

The Family Law Act 1975 provides that if your case is in Court, then in most circumstances the Court has to consider whether shared care is in the best interest of the children. Whether the Court is likely to order a shared care arrangement will depend on the individual circumstances of your case.