Divorce Guide

What is the Welfare Checklist

All those couples who are going to get divorced or separated and have children must know what the Welfare Checklist is. Welfare checklist is used by the UK Family Courts to assess the best interest of the child during the divorce or separation of the parents.

The state fully believes that children’s rights and interests should be protected in case their parents are separating. The child who is still young and not able to take care of himself should be treated fairly.

Divorce satisfies the ego of the adults but leaves the children lonely and tormented. Although parents try their best to protect their children from the heat of their differences, the child’s interest certainly get affected. Through Welfare Checklist the Family Court tries to find out details with the help of which it can take fair decision in favour of the child.

Welfare Checklist is being used by UK Family Courts since the inception of The Children Act in 1989.

The basic principles of the Act are as follows:

1. The welfare of the child is paramount
2. Delay is not in the child’s interest and should be avoided
3. Courts should make no orders that are not in the interest of the child.

The answer to the question that what is Welfare Checklist lies in the above three principles. The family Court in UK uses this checklist to determine the best proposition for the child.

The Welfare Checklist comes in the form of a questionnaire. It collects information on the wishes of the child and other basic details.

1. The wishes and feelings of the child concerned
2. His physical, emotional, and, educational needs
3. How will the child get implicated with the change in situation
4. Child’s age, sex, background, and any other relevant detail
5. Any harm that the child has suffered or has the risk of suffering
6. Capability of each parent and guardian to cater satisfactorily to the child
7. The range of powers available to the court in the proceedings in question.

During the proceedings a member of the CAFCASS (Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) or a member of the Family Court does the job of collecting relevant data to complete the Welfare Checklist. They work with the parents, guardians, and children involved in family proceedings, and advise the court on what is in the best interest of the child. Apart from the child parents and guardians are also interviewed in the course of preparing the Welfare Checklist.

After completing the Welfare Checklist the members prepare a comprehensive report to be used by the court. Although the Welfare Checklist has very broad criteria, it really helps the court in taking a fair decision. By including broad points in the Welfare Checklist the court pulls relevant and irrelevant data both. This helps the court in more exact interpretation of the case at hand.

So any family with children in the course of divorce must know what the Welfare Checklist is. It is important that all those involved in the proceedings should be fair while answering questions in the Welfare Cheklist.

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