Closed petition Legal default of equal shared care for children upon separation.

Closed on 14 June 2022

Respect the rights of children to have both parents in their life upon separation. An equal shared care default should negate the need for costly proceedings in the family court, which should help improve the lives of children and reducing the mental health toll to all involved.

Where there are no safeguarding concerns or other valid reason, we believe an assumed equal shared care is the only sensible position in which to begin, when considering childcare arrangements upon separation or divorce. Children deserve and have the right to both parents in equal proportions. A child should not have the burden of witnessing one parent fight through the family court simply to care for them in the same way as before the separation occurred.