Custody battles increase following quake

6:00 am on 19 March 2011

Community Law in Canterbury says demand for urgent parenting orders has leaped, amid arguments about whether children should leave the city following last month's earthquake.

The organisation has been offering free legal advice at recovery assistance centres and says it is dealing with an unexpected number of disputes related to children.

Supervising solicitor Kevin Campbell says one of the most common problems is where one parent is relocating from Christchurch.

He says in those cases, the other parent is wanting to take urgent action to stop their child going.

Mr Campbell says the best thing for parents to do is to sit down with Family Court counsellors and try to come to an agreement.