Can I stop my ex-partner applying to court about our child again?

Have you found yourself back in court proceedings after already having been at court in the recent months or even the last year? 

Is your ex-partner threatening to take you back to court despite a Final Order being made? Are you worried about how you are going to fund the second round of court proceedings? 

If you have answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you are not alone.  There is an order that you can seek to bar your ex-partner from making further applications without the permission of the court.

Will the court decide if the application can proceed?

Although it is not as well-known as other sections of the Children Act 1989 (the legislation that largely deals with your child/ren’s care whilst they remain minors), under Section 91(14) of the Act, orders are available to prevent a person from making an application without leave of the court. 

This simply means that under this section, it is left to the court to determine the circumstances in which an application should be allowed to proceed. 

Repeated applications

A repeated application could also be considered as a part of a pattern of coercive or controlling behaviour or even domestic abuse towards you.  This has to be balanced with the court’s resources, what is in everyone’s best interests and ultimately whether the application’s merits outweigh the risk of harm to you or your child/ren. 

This section of the legislation is not used as often because the threshold has previously been somewhat higher.  I mostly find that parents are unaware of this order and will not ask for it when a Final Order is made. 

However, recently, guidance has been passed to make the said order more available. The courts are now being asked to give early consideration to whether such an order is appropriate when disposing of the main application (i.e. when a Final Order is made). 

Whilst a Judge is likely to want to see a pattern of repeated applications, it is certainly something that the courts are now paying attention to. 

If you are unsure of your legal position or simply wish to discuss this further, you can contact me on 01245 453818 or email me direct on: Farrah.Harvey-Nawaz@birkettlong.co.uk