I am worried about the health risks of sending my child to contact with their other parent. How do I communicate that I wish to temporarily halt direct contact? (COVID-19)

If you have made the decision to stop direct contact, it is important that you inform your co-parent in writing via email, text message or some other means of communication.

If both parents cannot agree on a variation of the terms of the Order, but you feel that complying with the terms would be against advice from the NHS, you can decide to vary the arrangement to ensure the safety of your child.

Bear in mind that such a decision could be examined after the event by the Family Court, which expects the parent to have acted reasonably and according to current guidance. It will be expected that another form of indirect contact would be offered at this point.