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Kenny,
To me, it's clear how you should play this.
I'm curious to know what your solicitor has advised you in this respect. Is he/she attending court with you tomorrow? Do you both have a game plan worked out for how you will tackle the obstacles put in the way of contact by your ex?
Point one - the allegations made by your ex are false, and vexatious in nature. Made at least a year after your relationship ended. Why now? Of course to interfere with contact.
Point two - Your ex has never promoted contact, hence why you had to go to court in the first place. The latest allegations are intended to harm contact.
Point three - Contact has been going well for a number of months, and as you are of the firm belief that the allegations are false, you see no reason for contact to stop now.
Point four - Any stopping of contact would be emotionally damaging and confusing to the children. One minute dad is around, the next minute, dad is gone. It is not a child focused course of action to be implemented.
Point five - You need to ask the judge how the issue with the contact centre can be resolved. Explain that your ex instigated the issue with the contact centre which forced them into the position they are now in. Can anyone else facilitate handovers for your ex? Can the contact centre not keep you in a separate part of the building until your ex has dropped your kids off. Can the same not happen when they have to leave?
For me, it is your ex that is making the problems, not you. Just keep reasonable tomorrow. Don't attack her, just explain that the allegations are false. Your ex is making a big song and dance to all that want to hear, and it is interfering with contact. Make it known that you are child focused and promoting contact.
If the contact centre is going to be a hindrance to contact going forward, then possibly you need to be asking for contact to move away from the centre and to happen within the local community.
Why are you still having contact on an unsupervised basis? After your last hearing was a review hearing not ordered to assess the progress of contact and see about moving it to an unsupervised basis? If this is that hearing, then perhaps it is time to ask for unsupervised contact, as you have been in the centre now for a while with no safeguarding or welfare issues being brought up.
Simon.
Hi, don't know if this will help, but a few years ago when working in childrens services I used to have to arrange contact for children in a similar situation, this is a long shot, but, you could ask Social Services to help out in arranging contact, ie to pick up your Daughter and take her to contact center or to do supervised visits, you could ask the court to facilitate this until allegations are disproved pointing out that it keeps the contact going between you and your daughter and that to stop contact would not be in the best interests of her welfare, hope this might help.
Just another thought, within every county authority area is whats called Family Intervention Projects F.I.P.s they are there to support families that are having problems, courts can make referrals to F.I.P.s this might be something to look into, if you want to find out who runs your local one ring council, or you can find out from the court, it is usually charities such as Action for Children.
Good luck Kenny!
Well done, another success story, we need this encouragement!!!
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