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Hi guys - a quick recap - Ive been to court for the interim hearing and the court have ordered a Section 7 report to be carried out by 18th March, this apparently is an in depth report that takes some time.
I had an original meeting with the CAFCASS officer on 3rd February but this was cancelled and also the following meeting was also cancelled, I heard nothing so I decided to ring them only to be told that my officer is now on annual leave until the 1st March and nothing will be done until then, which I was not amused by to say the least
My question is should I consult my solicitor about this I dont want a rushed report filled out half cocked, or am I just being paranoid and worrying myself over nothing. My solicitor is very expensive everytime I contact them, thats why I thought I would ask on here first.
Thanks in advance.
L
Hi Laker,
I agree that it does seem to be cutting it far to fine to do a full report. My thoughts are that you ring cafcass on 1st March to speak to the Cafcass officer and ask him/her whether they are realistically going to be able to produce a report for the court (does it have to be with the court and your ex a number of days before the hearing?) and if there is any doubt, I'd look at rescheduling the hearing - I imagine it will cost (in solicitors fees) for you to do this, but presumably not as much as if your solicitor goes to court and another hearing date has to be set.
Anyone else have any thoughts on this?
Hi laker,
To be fair this is not uncommon with CAFCASS.
As actd has said definately contact them on 1st March, check their deadline dates (for the S7) for filing and go from there.
I would also sneak in an say that they need to ensure that this is complete by the date as ultimately what tends to happen is, although the hearing will go ahead, it can impact on a decision being made. As essentially the hearing will be without evidence/facts that could be important relating to contact.
Thanks for the swift response guys.
I think I will contact my solicitor as looks like its going to cost me if the report isnt done anyway, maybe they can add a bit more weight to my cause and maybe get another officer assigned to my case and ensure that the report is done in time.
I dont want to delay things a minute longer than I have to as this seems to take forever as it is.
On the plus side it seems to have given my ex a wake up call as Im now taking my daughter swimming again every Monday (with my ex there aswell), which was one of the tipping points that lead to this mess in the first place!
Strangest thing, just after posting above, lo and behold CAFCASS just rang, organised a meeting on the 29th February, even though my worker is on leave??!! You think they read these forums? Lol, well thats that sorted then, peace of mind for a couple of weeks.
Thanks again for your help guys.
well, she seems eager to make an appointment on 29th Feb - it's a leap year. You could be in for a proposal 😀 😀 😀
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