[Solved] Changes to a contact order ?

You say you have told your lawyer, but as this been submitted to court ? If not then it doesn’t matter.

If yes, it depends on the judge/magistrates/cafcass officer of the day, but personally, as long as you justify it, I don’t see a problem with it.

At my final hearing I asked for more than I had asked at the first hearing, I asked for the additional time to be added on progressively and explained that the ex was being so opposed to my relationship with our son that I had to do this to avoid having to come to court again.

Granted all I asked for without any questions regarding why I was asking for more. All they cared about was wether the child would be safe with me.

I’d say if you truly want to spend that time with your kids, definitely do it. The sooner the easiest, and if you don’t, you’ll regret it later and have this hanging over you.

Best of luck.

I would give your solicitor a call asap and amend what you're asking for, as has been said, you can try it whilst the case is ongoing, but it's better to be clear about your asks from the onset.

HI guys, sorry to jump in I am in a similar position where the original order i was granted stated contact be increased gradually to overnights
but after a year of meaningful contact the ex is not willing to progress
what do i have to do to vary this order (forms etc) and how can i go about it, i cannot afford financially to have solicitors representing me i will be representing myself
Also would i need to go through mediation again? the letters sent from my solicitor to exs trying to discuss progression have fallen on deaf ears and had no response.

Hi there

She's probably not instructing her solitor anymore, hence the lack of response.

Is the current order vague about how to progress to overnights, or is there any specific timeframe? Depending on how the order is worded, you may be able to apply for enforcement, which would mean that you wouldn't have to attempt mediation first.

I if there's no specific timeframe set out then you would need to return to mediation before a court application can be made. You would need form C100 and would ask for the existing order to be varied.

There's plenty of info in the stickys at the top of the legal eagle section and we will do what we can to advise and support you.

I'm going to move your post into its own thread, it's always better to start your own topic, tagging onto older posts can mean your post will get overlooked.

a_1_1_1

if there is no defined progression outlined and it's "extra contact as can be agreed between the parties (parents)" then it's variation to order you'll need (C100) not enforcement (C79)

I contacted court regarding similar a few years ago and got told due to the order being running for a while (in my case 12mths) that i needed to apply for variation as she wasn't breaking the order as it wasn't ordered that contact be extended to weekends and extra days / holidays etc... it was an expectation of the judge not "ordered" by the judge.

yes its something along those lines, but i had it specifically put in there as i knew the situation may arise and she is very unlikely wanting to progress it even though its
in the best interests of the children.
thanks I will be probably applying to vary it and get as much of a level playing field as at the moment i am doing all the running around and yet everything is still controlled by the ex
it could be argued she is breaking it as it specifically says contact must be progressed in line with the wishes of the children and so far it hasn't, nevertheless i think if i apply to vary it cant see them not allowing my children to stay now as i have had lots of meaningful contact

kenny - unless your lawyer has already submitted to court, just let him know what you have changed your mind about.