A ‘Lives With Order’ settles a child’s living arrangements. A residence order does not have any effect on the parental responsibility of either parent (except for a non-parent who previously had a residence order in their favour).

More than one person can be granted a residence order and these are called shared residence orders. In these circumstances, the court will determine how much time the child will spend with each parent. It does not automatically mean spending equal time with each parent. In practical terms, a shared residence order is easier to put into effect when the parents live relatively close to each other although distance itself is not an automatic bar to a joint residence order being made.