https://www.mcguinnesslegal.co.uk/blog daily 0.75 2025-05-09 https://www.mcguinnesslegal.co.uk/blog/blog-post-four-wkfsw monthly 0.5 2019-08-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cdb0b54755be25d5d92bfb3/1565794519920-7ZV3FNWJON04K3BSJK6A/download.jpeg Blog - Blog Post Four https://www.mcguinnesslegal.co.uk/blog/blog-post-three-tf6m5 monthly 0.5 2019-08-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cdb0b54755be25d5d92bfb3/1565794488032-9XBL84FW5EFN7IJBCXN9/download+%281%29.jpeg Blog - Blog Post Three https://www.mcguinnesslegal.co.uk/blog/blog-post-two-wzlr7 monthly 0.5 2019-08-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cdb0b54755be25d5d92bfb3/1565794203166-HK9O5SMXBCPW1RHBM3V5/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Blog Post Two https://www.mcguinnesslegal.co.uk/blog/blog-post-one-3z4yf monthly 0.5 2019-08-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cdb0b54755be25d5d92bfb3/1565794043606-FK1PV2DOU30VI46WWL09/justice-rising-ECHO-AND-EARL-3.jpg Blog - Blog Post One https://www.mcguinnesslegal.co.uk/home daily 1.0 2021-08-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61121e79edc0b8357bcff2e6/1628580479126-P26Q3CU2OZB06L1OZIJ1/care-proceedings.jpg McGuinness Legal | Staffordshires Leadig Childcare Specialist. - Care Proceedings Expert advice on what to do if social services are involved with your family. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61121e79edc0b8357bcff2e6/1628580735608-HWH6PCO4UHCHLFA4MH4E/adoption.jpg McGuinness Legal | Staffordshires Leadig Childcare Specialist. - Adoption We can advise you on defending an adoption application as well as on the procedure to adopt a child. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61121e79edc0b8357bcff2e6/1628580932987-4972YKHBKH0GTSFMEWXZ/guardianship.jpg McGuinness Legal | Staffordshires Leadig Childcare Specialist. - Special Guardianship If you wish to care for a child on a long term basis, special guardianship may be an alterative to adoption. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61121e79edc0b8357bcff2e6/1628581061657-8FEX3X6S935D8OFNGPCS/funding.jpg McGuinness Legal | Staffordshires Leadig Childcare Specialist. - Funding Advice on what funding is available for our services. https://www.mcguinnesslegal.co.uk/our-team daily 0.75 2024-09-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61121e79edc0b8357bcff2e6/a10fb459-320d-4fb5-abb3-63a98fb0c69b/Joanne-McGuinness-Profile.jpg McGuinness Legal | Our Specialist Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61121e79edc0b8357bcff2e6/bcc55f60-7edf-479c-8ac6-5c8821189ba5/Alex-Herbert-Profile.jpg McGuinness Legal | Our Specialist Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61121e79edc0b8357bcff2e6/7bc632bf-45cb-4ea9-9a41-81aed0b1c309/Lynsey-Chapman-Profile.jpg McGuinness Legal | Our Specialist Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61121e79edc0b8357bcff2e6/83c8a187-200b-4b74-966a-43de96516316/Lynne-Barlow-Profile.jpg McGuinness Legal | Our Specialist Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61121e79edc0b8357bcff2e6/d84935ea-f567-4266-8980-833d30a74080/Amy-Lawton-Profile.jpg McGuinness Legal | Our Specialist Team https://www.mcguinnesslegal.co.uk/about-1 daily 0.75 2021-08-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61121e79edc0b8357bcff2e6/1628584712557-7IZZHYSWMJU0YVN5HKX8/carepage.jpg McGuinness Legal | Care Proceedings - Care Proceedings Social services offer a great many of families valuable support and advice. There are countless examples of families receiving help and working in partnership with social services. Most cases never reach court or need expert help. However, at times it can also be a traumatic and stressful experience particularly in cases where families feel misjudged or where communication may have broken down. There are a number of ways in which social services may become formally involved with a family. There may be a serious one off incident, referrals from individuals or agencies or concerns which have escalated over a period of time. Before making a decision to start court proceedings, social services will more often than not try to work with families to address any concerns. In many cases a case conference may be arranged to consider whether a child protection plan should be put in place. All agencies involved with the family such as health visitor, nursery, school etc will be invited to the case conference to share information. Child protection plans are regularly reviewed. It is often not necessary for any further action to be taken. In many cases where there have been concerns over a period of time, social services will write a formal letter to families setting out what action they need to take to improve matters and to avoid social services making an application to court for a care or supervision order. A meeting is arranged between the family and social services. Both the family and social services will be represented by a lawyer at the meeting. We are able to attend such a meeting with you. We will advise you both before, during and after the meeting. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61121e79edc0b8357bcff2e6/1628586994896-5449UDF7Z9QAENV7XEYO/care-3.jpg McGuinness Legal | Care Proceedings If the concerns are so serious or matters do not improve, social services may decide to apply to court for a court order. There are a number of different orders of the court can make. We can advise you about each kind of order. There are very strict guidelines about how long a court case should take. Currently the court aims to deal with a case in 26 weeks. This may vary depending on the issues involved. During this time, children may live at home, live with extended family members and friends or move into foster care. It may be necessary for a number of assessments to be carried out, often involving expert witnesses. We will consider the issues involved in your matter and will advise you on what reports and assessments are needed. We have considerable experience in obtaining expert reports, including instructing international experts. Contact with children during the process is a very important issue which is continually kept under review. If contact arrangements do not meet children’s needs, it is possible to ask the court to review the arrangements. We can advise you about contact issues both during and after court proceedings. In some cases, social services may decide that children cannot return home, live with family members or stay in long term Foster care. Social services may ask the court to consider approving adoption as an appropriate plan . For more information go to ‘adoption’. In most circumstances and cases, public funding (legal aid) will be available. For more details go to ‘Funding’. https://www.mcguinnesslegal.co.uk/about-1-1 daily 0.75 2021-08-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61121e79edc0b8357bcff2e6/1628588409621-WYKNOFDS09L493ZWWOG4/adoption-page.jpg McGuinness Legal | Adoption - Adoption We can give you expert advice about adoption in cases where social services are asking the court for permission to place a child for adoption. In circumstances where social services have started court proceedings and feel that it is not possible for children to live with parents or other family members, a decision may be made to ask the court to approve a care plan for permanency outside of the family through adoption. This is particularly the case where children are very young. If social services decide adoption is an appropriate plan, an application to the court for a placement order may be made. If the court agrees adoption is the right plan after considering all the options, the court may grant a placement order which gives social services permission to place a child for adoption. We can advise you about placement applications. Following the making of a placement order, a child may be placed with prospective adopters who will in due course make an application to the court for an adoption order. In certain circumstances birth parents may have grounds to ask the court for permission to be involved in the adoption application. Sometimes the court will consider ongoing contact particularly if birth parents do not object to the adoption order all the adopters of already known to the birth parents. We can advise you about these issues. We also have experience in representing local authority Foster carers, family members or other long term carers who may wish to adopt children for whom they are caring and in respect of which a decision has been made that they cannot return home. For advice on how adoption matters can be funded, go to ‘funding‘. https://www.mcguinnesslegal.co.uk/about-1-2 daily 0.75 2021-08-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61121e79edc0b8357bcff2e6/1628589204681-5LT08S98RTNKA18Y44TS/Guardianship-page.jpg McGuinness Legal | Special Guardianship - Special Guardianship If you are caring for or wish to care for a child on a long term basis, you may wish to ask the court to make a Special Guardianship Order. Special guardianship orders are becoming more and more common and in certain circumstances are an alternative to adoption. Many different categories of carers may become Special Guardians, such as grandparents, extended family members, friends or Foster carers. Special Guardianship is different from adoption in that the parents legally remain parents and retain parental responsibility although their ability to exercise their parental responsibility is extremely limited. If a special guardianship order is made, it is the intention that the Special Guardian will have responsibility for making all day to day decisions to the exclusion of the parent. It is also usually intended that the Special Guardian will provide a long term home for children until they reach adulthood. There are a number of ways to apply to become a Special Guardian. We can advise you about what is the appropriate way in your particular circumstances. If you wish to become a special Guardian, you will be assessed by social services. This will involve an assessment of your family circumstances as well as a medical. Social services also need to consider what support package should be put in place. This may include financial support. We are able to give you further advice about what support package should be put in place and when it should be reviewed. To be considered as a special Guardian you do not have to be caring for the child at the time you make the application. We can give you expert advice about the merits of your application. Funding may be available to apply for a special guardianship order either through public funding (legal aid) or in certain circumstances, social services may assist with legal fees. For more information go to ‘funding’. https://www.mcguinnesslegal.co.uk/funding daily 0.75 2021-08-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61121e79edc0b8357bcff2e6/1628590346198-290MY2ZHIXWQK7F1I58Q/funding-page.jpg McGuinness Legal | Funding - Funding The vast majority of work undertaken by McGuinness Legal is funded through public funding (legal aid). There are different types of public funding available depending on the circumstances of each case. We will make any appropriate application for public funding on your behalf. Pre Court Proceedings Funding Public funding is available to assist in attending and representing parents at meetings with social services before Court proceedings have been issued. This type of public funding is means tested and you will need to provide written evidence of what benefits you receive or your wage slips if you are working. Funding Court Proceedings If you are a parent or someone who holds parental responsibility for a child at the time the case is first presented to the Court, you will be eligible to receive public funding to cover representation in the case. The funding is non means tested and therefore your income and capital will not be relevant in making the application for funding. You will not be required to make any financial contribution towards your legal costs. If you are not a parent, you may still be eligible for public funding. Your application will be means tested and you will be required to provide evidence of your income, capital and outgoings. Your application will be considered by the Legal Aid Agency who will decide if you are eligible. You may qualify for public funding without needing to make a contribution payment towards your public funding or you may be assessed as being required to make a monthly payment towards your legal costs. 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Nullam tempor dolor sed nulla auctor, nec placerat felis sodales. Etiam et turpis mattis, efficitur mi ut, ultrices diam. Donec consectetur, odio eget porta varius, orci mauris viverra ante, eget egestas turpis sapien vel orci. Donec eu ornare augue, ut efficitur velit. Vestibulum et magna mattis, sollicitudin ligula ac, facilisis dui. Ut blandit lectus neque. Sit amet fringilla nisi mollis eget. Sed a eros nec leo euismod eleifend sit amet ut nisl blandit. Sed a eros nec leo euismod eleifend sit amet ut nisl. Nullam tempor dolor sed nulla auctor, nec placerat felis sodales. Etiam et turpis mattis, efficitur mi ut, ultrices diam. Donec consectetur, odio eget porta varius, orci mauris viverra ante, eget egestas turpis sapien vel orci mauris viverra. — Simone Lemoniere Executive Director, Mentor