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1st hearing done and went well, cafcass told judge they have no problem, and although they are making us try mediation again, if there's no progress by January we go back to court, judge ruled this is ok and has given a court order for previous contact to resume. Couldn't have done this without all your help, thanks again.
One question, does the court order mean my ex really has to conform, she's already text me to say that she will allow this to happen. I thought that this would now be the minimum contact from here on and be viewed as the starting point by the court.
Well done Dale, I thought it would go smoothly.
Now you have an interim order, your ex must comply or she will be in breach....it's just her trying to hold onto control when she uses terms such as "allowing you".
This is just the first step, in mediation you are encouraged to agree on contact moving forward, try to be as comprehensive as possible and make proposals for increasing contact and including a share of school holidays and alternate christmas and birthdays. Put together a schedule of increasing contact and perhaps try and introduce the CAFCASS Parenting Plan at mediation as this will not only cover contact but also all other areas that require parents to agree to work together.
If you do reach an agreement take that back to court in January and ask that it be written into a Consent Order. If she won't agree then the court will decide what is in the children's best interests. As I'm not sure what your previous contact was I can't comment on what proposals you can suggest.
thanks mojo,
My little girl is only 1 and a half, and a steady progression of increased contact is all I want. It's so reassuring to read peoples advice. It helps so much, occasionally self doubt creeps in and you lot make it go away.
Well Done Dale 🙂
It is good to see that you are on the right tracks to resuming contact.
Court ideally want to close the case off as soon as they want and ideally want both parents to work it out. I remember telling the judge... Much as I respect wanting to close this case off (I was happy with the proposed order) I wanted to know the consequences of ex not following the court order as ideally I wanted the case to be left open. The judge paused for a moment and picked up an piece of paper and said "this will happen" ... Then went on an 10 minute rant about all the bad things that can happen! lol. Also mentioned I could go ahead and put an enforcement in place if court order not met.
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