Current Child Arrangement: 50/50 weekly; during mediation-60/40 (not finalized): Will 50/50 be awarded if we end up in court-UK?

Royal-Cash5397 · 2025-10-29T16:23:10+00:00

if the current 50/50 setup is working well and the kids are settled, that usually carries a lot of weight with the court. The difference between 50/50 and 60/40 might not look huge on paper, but once it’s written into an order it sets a new pattern that’s harder to undo later.Going to court for a child arrangements order can cost anywhere from £200 if you handle most of it yourself to £6k+++ with full legal representation, and a financial settlement can easily double that if things drag out.If everything else in mediation is agreed and you’re only debating those two midweek nights, it might not be worth the financial and emotional toll of a full hearing. But if equal time matters to you in principle especially for long-term stability it’s better to stand firm now rather than try to fix it later.

hip-hoperation · 2025-10-29T06:50:23+00:00

Just so I understand, you’re currently doing 50/50 in reality, but in mediation tentatively agreed to 60/40 in future?

No reason you have to be held to that 60/40 if it’s not finalised. Courts favour a balance of 50/50 and the status quo - which in your case is 50/50.

How to row it back? “The kids are thriving with the current schedule, and on reflection I think it will be better for the kids to maintain the stability of their current routine than to have another change.”

RedRibbon3KS · 2025-10-28T19:51:17+00:00

I know you asked for the UK but USA here. My lawyer said under no circumstance am I to agree to less than 50-50 for any amount of time. If she asks for an extra weekend, I should only agree if I get an extra weekend. The reasoning is that if she establishes a pattern of her getting more time, she could go back to court to say this is normal. Granted, my experience is and was highly contentious.

Title	Current Child Arrangement: 50/50 weekly; during mediation-60/40 (not finalized): Will 50/50 be awarded if we end up in court-UK?
Author	Moist-Try-1123
Upvotes	2
Comments	5
Date	October 28, 2025 9:59 AM UTC (9 months ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/Divorce_Men
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/Divorce_Men/comments/1oi58ii/current_child_arrangement_5050_weekly_during/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/Divorce_Men/current-child-arrangement-5050-weekly-during.1565221 https://theredarchive.com/post/1565221

Comments