Put the child’s ordinary week at the centre of the first legal conversation: school, travel, care and the arrangements that are no longer working. Child arrangements solicitors in Brighton can then assess the actual disagreement rather than an argument described only as “access”. These five firms publish relevant family services in Brighton and neighbouring Hove. Their numbering is for identification, not a prediction about parenting time or court results. Explain any safety concern privately before discussing a joint meeting or proposed negotiation.
1. Family Law Partners
Family Law Partners’ Brighton head office is on Clifton Hill. Its children’s service expressly addresses arrangements after separation, relocation and other child-law questions. Consider an enquiry when you need both an immediate arrangement and a way to revisit it as circumstances change. Describe the child’s existing routine, what each parent proposes and which points remain disputed. The first assessment should distinguish the practical problem from the legal question. A solicitor can work more usefully from that account than from a request to secure a particular percentage of time.
Say a parent starts working alternate weekends and the old collection schedule becomes impractical. Set out the change and the available options without presenting one as already agreed. Questions gathered through Rights Policy should be checked against the relevant England and Wales position rather than borrowed from another jurisdiction.
2. Martin Cray
Martin Cray is based on Edward Street and publishes a dedicated Brighton child arrangements service. It describes advice about where children live, time with each parent and help through negotiation, mediation or court proceedings. It is a direct option when the parenting arrangement itself is the main instruction. Provide any existing order or written plan before asking how it can be changed. Explain whether the current problem is a disagreement about wording, a proposed new routine or something happening outside the arrangement already recorded.
Think of the parenting plan as a working timetable, not a scorecard between adults. Travel time and school commitments need to be visible. Reading through Trial Diaries should not make a contested hearing the assumed destination before the adviser has assessed the current documents and available ways forward.
3. Stowe Family Law
Stowe’s Brighton office is at Nile House on Nile Street, with appointments arranged in advance. Its local family services include children’s matters alongside separation and financial work. Consider it when several issues need separate advice but a clear point of contact would help. State which instruction concerns the child and which concerns the adults’ finances. Ask who would lead the children’s work and how information will be coordinated. A larger family-law instruction should not leave you uncertain about who is responding to the immediate parenting question.
For example, a proposed move may involve housing costs and a change to the school journey. Give the adviser both facts without assuming one resolves the other. Material accessed through Judge Chronicles cannot establish what a judge would decide about a different child, distance or family arrangement.
4. Brookman Solicitors
Brookman’s Brighton service is based at The Portland Building on Church Street and operates within DMH Stallard. Its published family work includes children’s issues and international matters. It is worth considering where parenting arrangements cross borders or connect with proceedings elsewhere. Name the countries, existing arrangements and proposed travel dates before requesting a consultation. Do not reduce the issue to a disagreement about holidays if there are wider concerns about relocation or an existing order. The team needs the complete position to identify the appropriate next task and any separate advice required.
A useful preparation rule is to record facts before interpretations. Keep the actual travel proposal and relevant correspondence intact, then explain your concerns in a separate summary. Notes from Witness Guides should not lead anyone to rehearse a child’s account or turn ordinary family discussion into prepared evidence.
5. O’Sullivan Family Law
O’Sullivan Family Law is based in Hove rather than central Brighton. Jo O’Sullivan publishes child arrangements work through mediation and other non-court approaches, including discussion of child-inclusive mediation. This is an option to investigate if you want the process explained before committing to it. Establish whether the proposed professional role is mediator, solicitor neutral or adviser to you personally. Those roles are different. Give safety concerns and any imbalance in communication proper attention before assuming that a joint process is suitable for this family.
Questions about parenting advice
Is mediation the same as getting my own legal advice?
No. GOV.UK describes a mediator as neutral. Ask how individual legal advice would be provided and whether the proposed process is appropriate for your circumstances.
Do we need to discuss every future holiday immediately?
Identify the immediate problem and the next predictable decision. Ask how the plan can address later arrangements without allowing a manageable enquiry to expand unnecessarily.
What if an arrangement has already been agreed informally?
Provide it and explain how it works in practice. Request advice on its status and whether any further documentation or court-approved arrangement is appropriate.
Book around the child’s practical difficulty
Prepare the current routine, proposed changes and any existing papers. State the urgent issue and a safe way to contact you. Agree the adviser’s role and first task, then decide which process suits the family after the relevant concerns have been assessed.