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What is a Residence Order?
A Residence Order was a court order made before April 2014. Existing Residence Orders are still valid.
The order said where a child would live and who they would live with.
Residence Orders give carers shared parental responsibility.
Parental Responsibility
With a Child Arrangements Order you have day‑to‑day parental responsibility. This means you can make most decisions for the child.
Birth parents keep their parental responsibility. They must agree to all the big decisions. These include:
- Non‑urgent medical treatment
- Choosing a school
- Taking the child abroad for more than 28 days.
Worth Knowing
Residence Orders were not just for kinship carers. They were sometimes issued during divorce proceedings too.
Newly granted orders are called Child Arrangements Orders.