Children Centre
Track everything that affects minor children in a divorce: care, contact, guardianship, maintenance, school fees, medical aid, and Family Advocate review. This page should stay open whenever children are involved.
Children Health
Needs Review1. Overview
This page is the permanent place for all child-related divorce issues. It should never disappear once children are present in the matter.
Core child issues
- Care / residence
- Contact / access
- Guardianship
- Maintenance
- School fees
- Medical aid
What the page decides
- Whether children are involved
- Whether a parenting plan exists
- Whether Family Advocate input is required
- Whether the case can move to settlement-ready status
2. Children details
This is the data model for the children branch. The page should let the user fill in the facts that affect settlement and finalisation.
Child details to capture
- Names
- Ages
- School
- Special needs
- Current care pattern
Practical support items
- School fees clause
- Medical aid clause
- Holiday contact clause
- Travel / relocation clause
3. Family Advocate branch
Where children rights or parenting arrangements need formal checking, this branch stays active until approval or endorsement is satisfied.
Status
- Not applicable
- Required
- Submitted
- Endorsed
Checklist
- Parenting plan attached
- Children’s best interests addressed
- Recommendation requested
- Recommendation received
4. Readiness summary
This summary should explain whether the children branch is blocking settlement or whether the matter is ready to move on.
Example summary
- Two minor children involved
- Primary residence agreed
- Maintenance still pending
- Parenting plan attached
- Family Advocate endorsement outstanding
5. Questions panel
The user should be able to ask questions directly from the children page.
Do I need a parenting plan?
Yes, if minor children are involved and the settlement touches care, contact, guardianship, or maintenance.
Do I always need Family Advocate approval?
It depends on the child-related issues in the matter, but the page should track it whenever it is needed.
What if maintenance is still pending?
The branch should stay active and the readiness meter should not move to green until that issue is resolved or clearly addressed.