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Many years ago when a family broke up it was standard practice for Mum to have custody and Dad to have access...
It is a scenario we have all come to accept, however since then things have changed, there is no standard practice, either
parent can get custody and the terminology is totally different...
Below is the old term and the new, it's the same label but with a modern updated name, just as road transport became logistics...
CUSTODY is the old term, it determines who the child/ren lives with and the new term is RESIDENCY
ACCESS has now become CONTACT unless mutually agreed by both parents, the court will determine when and where the child/ren
will see the parent that they no longer live with.
Whoever has residency becomes the RESIDENT PARENT (RP) this is ordered by the courts as to where the child shall live.
It is not set in stone as to who gets this prestigious title; it may be either Mum or Dad, in some instances the courts
may order a Shared Residency Order, which can take on many variations.
It has many add-ons attached to it, for example the RP can take the child out of the country for up to 28 days. The RP
is very much in control of the situation and the day to day responsibilities, care and welfare of the children lies totally
in their hands, if the NON RESIDENT PARENT (NRP) is not agreeable with the way the children are being raised it will be down
to them to contest it in the family courts.
A Non Resident Parent (NRP) will, if lucky have a good regular contact with their child/ren, however just because the
court has ordered contact, it doesn't always follow that it will go to plan , it still rests very much with the RP.
If they decide that they don't want you to have the children this weekend, then you don't get them. There is nothing
at present that can be used to force the situation and It will be a trip back to the courts to enforce the contact order;
it can take several trips to the court before it becomes set in stone.
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