Care of children form generator

Where to start

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Overview

Use this page to apply for the court to help you reach an agreement or make a decision. You can apply for help with care arrangements for your child or children, or to help resolve a dispute, or to protect your rights as a parent or guardian.

By following the steps below, you can generate an application form to fill in online or to print and fill in by hand. You could visit your local library to use a computer or to print the form. If you would like help to complete the form, contact our Kaiārahi – Family Court Navigators.

If your situation is urgent

You may need to apply for an urgent court order instead because:

someone is being violent or abusive towards you, your child, or both
you or your child's personal safety is at risk
waiting too long to get a court order (if you need one) may cause financial problems
the other parent, legal guardian or whānau member is planning to take your child overseas without your permission.

When to apply for an urgent court order

Process

Step 1 - Download the user guide

Use this guide to help decide which type of application form you need. It also has information you may find useful when completing the application form.

Care of Children - Applying for a Court Order guide

Step 2 - Select the Orders

Answer the three questions below, selecting from the dropdown options. This will help generate the form you need.

Type Of Order

What do you want the Court to do?

Filing method

Type Of Order

What do you want the Court to do?

Filing method

Type Of Order

What do you want the Court to do?

Filing method

Type Of Order

What do you want the Court to do?

Filing method

Step 3 - People involved in your application

Step 4 - Application format

You need to choose whether you will fill in the form on your computer (choose editable PDF) and then print it out, or print it out and fill it in by hand (choose handwritten form).

Step 5 - Generate your application

Please tick the box below and then click 'Generate Application'.

Depending on what you chose at Step 4, you will need to either:

download the pdf to fill in and print
or print the application form and complete it by hand.

Take your completed form to your nearest court. See our Find us page for court locations.