Ex Wants to make Parenting Agreement into Consent Order in Court

Hello, brief background. My ex-wife and I divorce two years' ago with a clean-break financial agreement. We have a 7 year-old daughter who resides with mum and she has overnight visitations at weekends and during school holidays. The current child arrangement has been verbal only so far/

My EW and I had a row last weekend which resulted in me reporting her to the police for entering my property without permission and assaulting me. The Police chose not to do anything as it was one person's word against the other. She then sent me a Parenting Agreement which we have been trying to resolve and told me that I would not be able to see my daughter until I sign it. Which of course she do...

We have spent several hours going back and forth (it's now on version 3.4) this week negotiating the Parenting Agreement and we are aligned on everything now. However, she then said that she wanted to get it made into a Consent Order at court.

Is this standard procedure?

What should I watch out for if I do sign the Agreement?

Any advice or help will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

It is possible to obtain a Child Arrangements Order by consent, the advantage is that both parents have a legally binding order setting out the arrangements for thier children.

Even if you sign the parenting agreement now, you are not committing yourself to anything that is legally binding, or enforceable via a court, but you would be agreeing to the terms of the parenting agreement.

If there is likley to be ongoing disputes about how your child's time is shared between her parents, then a child arrangements order by consent sounds like it would be beneficial to you, in the event of contact being withheld once the order is in place you would be able to apply to court for enforcement. Should you need to vary the terms of the CAO at a later stage, this can be done by consent between both parents, or by making an application to court to vary the existing order.

Wikivorce do a Child Arrangements Order by Consent service , and a child issues consultation if you need legal advice on your situation. You are welcome to call the helpline on 01202 805020 for more information.