Too late …the kids have gone and I had no idea

September 5, 2025

When you’re talking about your children, most people will agree that they are the number one priority.  But all too often, people put off seeking legal advice about issues relating to their children, which can unfortunately have unintended consequences.

Sometimes, a delay in seeking advice and taking legal action can result in you prejudicing your prospects of legal action moving forward.

If a change has occurred, or if something is not working, your best chance of changing the arrangement is to act quickly.

For example, you separate and agree to a 50/50 time arrangement with your coparent, however you’re not happy with this arrangement and quickly realise that this is not working for your children.

If you delay seeking legal advice, and ultimately you end up needing to commence court proceedings to assist with changing the arrangement, the longer you have delayed the more difficult it becomes.

Such as in the example above, the longer that your children are in a 50/50 arrangement with your coparent, the more difficult it will be to change that arrangement (unless you can demonstrate that the arrangement is not in the children’s best interests).

Another example is if your coparent moves with your child to another town.  If you don’t urgently seek legal advice about the steps to take, then you risk prejudicing any case you may have in the court due to the delay.  In any consequent court proceeding, the court may ask why you waited so long.

The Court will also consider the added difficulty of making further changes to your child’s life. For example, has your child been enrolled in a new school, have they made new friends?  Will it be more disruptive now to move them again, then to leave them where they are?

The point is, you don’t know what you don’t know.  To ensure that you are putting your best foot forward for your children in any potential court proceedings, it is important to seek legal advice early.  You can then make an informed decision about how you wish to proceed.

If you are seeking advice about your children following separation from a partner, please contact our family law team.