Welcome to the DAD.Info forum: Important Information – open to read:
Our forum aims to provide support and guidance where it can, however we may not always have the answer. The forum is not moderated 24 hours a day, so If you – or someone you know – are being harmed or in immediate danger of being harmed, call the police on 999.
Alternatively, if you are in crisis, please call Samaritans on 116 123.
If you are worried about you or someone you know is at risk of harm, please click here: How we can help
....try not to think about it as a battle, you have had regular weekly contact for a while and it's in your childs best interests to cause as little disruption to her routine as possible, just put her at the centre of your approach and requests.
Sometimes it's better to ask for more than you would be happy with, but I wouldn't worry, you wouldn't get penalised for doing so....there's no guarantee s but if you don't ask you won't get!
Perhaps ask for a full Friday to Monday weekend fortnightly, picking up and dropping off at school to avoid the usual conflict. A full day on Sunday on the weeks you don't have her for the whole weekend ( the reason being she is used to spending each weekend with you and it's important to maintain continuity of contact with her brothers too) and also Wednesday evening contact on a weekly basis.
Don't forget to ask for a share of all school holidays, you could ask for a 50/50 split as a starting point, shared alternate Christmas and birthdays ( mentioning the agreement about this Christmas and the disappointment of the children at the sudden change).
If you are on a low income, have a word with the mediator as you may be entitled to some reduction there. You can also check to see if you are eligible to a part of full exemption from the court fee, which is usually £215 when you submit the application. To apply for an exemption you would need form EX160a.
Once she has received the court paperwork she may decide to instruct a solicitor but she would have to pay for that, the same as you would. She may also suspend all contact at that point, this is quite common.
When you are filling in the C100 form, where it asks what you are requesting from the court, make sure you ask for an iterim order for contact at the first hearing, otherwise they may not consider it and if she has stoped contact, it might be months before you get contact up and running again.
Remember that in the eyes of the court, the relationship with her half siblings is also important, they make no distinction between half or full siblings, so make sure you mention the impact no contact would have on them, without an interim order in place.
Welcome to the DAD.info forum.
We don’t like to set ‘rules’, but to make sure that you and the other dads are kept safe, we have some requests. When engaging with the forum, please be aware of the following:
- The forum is not moderated 24 hours per day.
- Many of the moderators do so on a voluntary basis. Whilst they may be able to provide some guidance, advice or support, they may not be able to deal with specifics.
- We are not an emergency crisis service so if you or someone else is in immediate danger, please call emergency services.
- If you are concerned about the safety of a child, please click here to find the support you can get for them (link to new page)
- If you are in crisis, please call Samaritans on 116 123. They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
We hope you find this forum a supportive environment and thank you for joining us.