Compassionate Special Guardianship Solicitors
To get the support you need, call 0151 236 8871 or book a call with our legal experts.
If you have day-to-day care of a child who isn’t your biological offspring, or is a child who is looked after by the Local Authority, there are various ways in which you can formalise the day-to-day care of that child or children, You can apply for an adoption order, a residence order, be a kinship family foster carer or you could apply for a Special Guardianship Order.
A Special Guardianship Order is an order which grants you all the rights, duties and responsibilities that a parent would have for a child and whilst the natural parent would retain parental responsibility, the Special Guardian would have the final say on the child’s day-to-day care, health, education and any other major decisions in the child’s life.
Why consider a Special Guardianship Order?
We have found that Special Guardianship Orders have been particularly useful in those cases where the family are unlikely to get an adoption order but need more security than a residence order; this could be the case, for example, where grandparents have been caring for a child, or where a Foster Carer decides they would wish to care for a Foster Child long-term.
The Local Authority are appointed within the Special Guardianship Proceedings to carry out an assessment of application to ensure it meets with the needs of the child, but it will also carry out and assessment of the support that the family require, which can be financial support, emotional support or practical support.
This is a new and developing area of law and Morecrofts have been involved since its inception and have the experience and expertise to assist you in this area.
What is a special guardianship order?
A Special Guardianship Order (SGO) is an order made by the courts that gives a carer for a child legal rights as though they are a parent. These usually are made for family members of a child who they are living with, such as grandparents or aunts/uncles.
How to apply for a special guardianship order?
You can apply for a special guardianship order by making an application to the court, or the local authority may make the application for you. You will have to fill in a form, a supporting statement and either confirm you have attended mediation or why you could not.
You need to tell the local authority and the child’s parents that you intend to make the application.
What rights do I have with a special guardianship order?
A ‘special guardian’ will be responsible for the caring and wellbeing of a child. They share parental responsibility for the child with their parents, but they have the right to make day to day decisions without permission of the parents, including decisions around school and medical treatment. There some limited restrictions on how you exercise parental responsibility as a special guardian e.g if you wanted to change the child’s name or wanted to emigrate
Who can apply for a special guardianship order?
An applicant for special guardianship must be over 18 and must not be a parent of the child.
You can apply for special guardianship if:
- You’re already the child’s legal guardian
- The child lives with you because of a child arrangements order
- The child has lived with you for 3 of the past 5 years
- You’re the child’s relative or foster parent, and the child has been living with you for at least 1 year
- You have the agreement of anyone named in a child arrangements order as someone who the child will live with
- You have the agreement of all the people with parental responsibility for the child
- You have the agreement of the local authority, if the child in in care
- You have the leave of the court
How long does it take to get a special guardianship order?
The family court normally expects proceedings to be completed within 26 weeks (6 months). If everyone is in agreement with the special guardianship order being made this may be done quicker, however if there are disagreements or further information needed it could take longer.
The court will always make decisions based on what is in the child’s best interests.
Can I get legal aid for a special guardianship order?
Legal aid can sometimes be available for prospective special guardians if they satisfy the merits and financial eligibility requirements of the legal aid agency. This usually means they need to be in receipt of a passporting benefit and/or their income and capital is below a certain threshold.