Family Solicitors

By David Gregson

Losing a child is always a problem. Whether it be in moment of panic or over a number of years, this can cause severe anguish for the parents concerned. As we are all too frighteningly aware, this is a problem that will simply not disappear. I only have to refer you to the ongoing McCann search to highlight the anguish and despair suffered by the parents through not knowing the whereabouts of their child.

By far the most common kind of child disappearance is parental child abduction. This abduction often occurs when the parents separate or begin divorce proceedings. A parent may remove the child unexpectedly for a number of reasons which can leave the other parent not knowing where their child is, and without any contact, for an unknown period of time. This worrying point is furthered by the concern that the child may even be removed from the country without their knowledge.

Help is at hand for the concerned parent under Section 33 Family Law Act 1986. This section gives the court jurisdiction to make an order to any person who it has reason to believe may have that relevant information. This is known as a seek and find order.

As the word abduction suggests, the concerned parent may not have much, if any, information or suspicion as to where their child has been taken. It is therefore important to question the parent thoroughly to obtain any information that may indicate whether a certain person may have knowledge of the child’s whereabouts. For example, the parent may be aware that their ex partner is in receipt of benefits, pays taxes, has previously paid money into that partner’s account or is in ownership of an automobile. If any of the above are disclosed then the Benefits’ Agency, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the person’s bank or the DVLA may have information that could assist the concerned parent. If any of the above, or other pertinent sources, provide such then this may well give the court reason to believe that they have the relevant information the concerned parent requires to locate the child and will therefore serve that order on the relevant person.

An application under Section 33 Family Law Act 1986 must be made in haste. It is imperative that the abducting parent is located in the shortest amount of time so as not to allow that parent time to prepare for “the next move”. If the concerned parent believes that the abducting parent may remove the child from the country then, when applying for a seek and find order, the concerned parent may want to apply for a prohibited steps order under Section 8 Children Act 1989 to prohibit the removal of the child from the jurisdiction of England and Wales. If granted this order will be served upon the abducting parent once the child’s whereabouts has been located.

In conclusion, Sections 33 and 8 of the Family Law and Children Acts, respectively, can provide some immediate solace to the concerned parent in the event of a missing child, if only to provide confirmation of the whereabouts of that child.