Divorce with Children in Wales: What the Filing Process Involves

The Divorce and Child Arrangements Are Legally Separate Processes

This is the point that causes the most confusion for parents filing in Wales. Your divorce application — Form D8, the £628 court fee, the 20-week reflection period — does not address custody, residence, or contact schedules. The no-fault divorce process dissolves the marriage. It does not make any orders about your children.

Child arrangements are handled through a separate legal framework under the Children Act 1989. If parents agree on how to divide their children's time, no court application is needed at all. If they cannot agree, one parent files a Form C100 application for a Child Arrangements Order (£270 as of 13 July 2026) — but this is a distinct case with its own reference number, its own timeline, and its own judicial process.

You can file for divorce and have the administrative dissolution proceed to completion without ever making a child arrangements application — provided both parents reach an agreement privately or through mediation.

Cafcass Cymru — Wales's Own Child Welfare Service

In England, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) handles safeguarding and welfare reporting for family courts. In Wales, this role is filled by Cafcass Cymru, a separate public body that operates under the Welsh Government rather than the Ministry of Justice.

Cafcass Cymru becomes involved in two main scenarios:

Safeguarding. When a C100 application is filed, Cafcass Cymru conducts safeguarding checks. A Family Court Adviser contacts both parents, runs background checks against police and local authority records, and reports to the court. This happens before the first hearing.

Welfare reports. If the court needs a more detailed assessment of what arrangement serves the child's best interests — typically in contested cases — it can order a Section 7 welfare report. A Cafcass Cymru officer visits both parents' homes, speaks to the children (if old enough), and prepares a detailed report with recommendations for the judge.

Voluntary Parenting Plans

The court encourages parents to agree on arrangements without involving the legal system. Cafcass Cymru publishes a "Parenting Plan" template through its Information for Parents page — a structured framework for deciding where the children will live, how time will be split, how holidays and school terms will work, and how decisions about education, health, and religion will be made.

A voluntary parenting plan is not a court order. It can provide a written record of the arrangements you have agreed, but it cannot be legally enforced.

The Mandatory Mediation Requirement

Before you can file a C100 application for a child arrangements order, you must attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM). This is a mandatory first step — the court will not accept a C100 without a signed MIAM confirmation, unless a safety exemption applies (for example, if there is evidence of domestic abuse).

A MIAM typically costs £115–£120 and is conducted by an accredited family mediator. The purpose is not to force you into mediation but to ensure you understand what mediation can offer before entering the court system. If mediation seems workable, you can proceed with it. If not, the mediator signs off on the MIAM form and you can file your C100.

Using the 20-Week Reflection Period

The mandatory waiting period in the divorce process is designed partly for this purpose — to give parents time to resolve child arrangements before the marriage formally ends. Even though the divorce and child proceedings are legally independent, the practical overlap is significant. The same 20 weeks you are waiting before applying for the conditional order can be used to negotiate a parenting plan, attend mediation, and agree on the framework that will govern your children's lives after the divorce.

The Wales Divorce Filing Process Guide covers the filing process from application to final order, including how to use the reflection period productively for both financial and child-related negotiations.

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