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Been reading the forums for a long time but i have had to join and ask a question as i am not happy with my solicitors advice.
me and ex split up 3.5 years ago. we have a daughter 8 and twins 5. when we first split contact was ok then started getting less and less so i went to court to get it corrected.
court order issued and the children live with her but have constant contact with me. that was 3 years ago now.
i have them fri after school until the monday and then the next week i have them thurs after school until saturday midday.
now i have been told i need to go to mediation as she wants to change the order. she is saying it is unfair as she does not have the children for a full weekend. i would be unable to change what contact i have cuz of work.
i will disagree in mediation so i think it will go to court.
i have been to see my solicitor today and he tells me that i can refuse but she has a case and that if she goes back to court then he thinks a judge will give her a full weekend and change my days to suit this. he said he is shocked it has taken her so long to do this and i should really think about agreeing to move my days in mediation.
can someone tell me if she has a hope? i cant help what the judge ordered and i cannot change my days now so as far as im concerned its tough but even my solicitor is not supporting me right now
Hi there
I think you're solicitor has a point, but alternate weekends aren't set in stone... although they are a preferred schedule and a lot of courts will agree that both parents are entitled to quality weekend time with their kids. If the mother works, this is more of an issue, if she's a stay at home mum, perhaps not so much,but it's really up to the judge/magistrates on the day as to the outcome.
Could you be flexible and on Thursday weekend, drop them off earlier on Saturday, or Friday night? Having them for tea an extra afternoon instead, so that time isn't lost.
I think your arguement should be about not reducing the time your children spend with you, but I would suggest you think about how that can be achieved without the need for court. It's impossible to predict what might happen, but worse cas scenario you could lose the weekend altogether.
Have you tried approaching work to adjust your working time? Again it shows you're looking for solutions, rather than digging your heels in.
I appreciate its not what you want to hear, have a good go at mediation and see where that leads, but don't go into it with a closed mind, try and think about solutions rather than court.
All the best
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