The only people who have rights/obligations in respect of children are people who have parental responsibility. However frequently non parents make applications to Court, for example, to spend time with children and for children to live with them, particularly if they have had a significant amount of time/involvement with the child concerned. If the child’s parents do not agree that a grandparent, for example, should not see the child, then a grandparent can make an application to Court for leave (permission) to apply for an order. There is no automatic right to apply, permission from Court has to be granted initially and this will depend on several factors.

All of our family lawyers at MKB can deal with such applications.

The costs of applying for such an application are the same as those listed above under the sub heading “children”. There will be an additional cost involved in making the application for leave (permission) to apply for a residence/contact order.