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I've posted on behalf of my boyfriend on here before. He would really appreciate ant advice that could be given today before he is in Court tomorrow. He's in court following the cafcass s7 report.
Last night he recieved an email with his ex's position statement following the s7.
He had no idea he would get this. Should he have written one? He is represented and his solictor has not asked him anything following the s7 report.
He could have written one, but I think solicitors seem to prefer making their case and talking about any developments at the hearing, some clients probably don't want the extra cost of it. There's nothing to stop you preparing one for any future hearings, but it's not a necessity
The report recommends 3/4 contacts a week building over a 6 week period. Oovernights with in 3 months if the child adjusts to it (13 months). It recommends that the first few contacts are with a 3rd party who is known to the child present, purely to stop the child being emotionally distressed. They suggest a contact centre as a suitable venue but also state that there are no safeguarding concerns towards dad (mum has never identified any, nor did the SW have any) and that the 3rd party is not because there are any concerns with dad.
The interim contact from the first hearing in December is 2 hours in a contact centre weekly. That was all she would agree to. She has thus far done 2 contacts since then....
His ex has come back and said She can not facilitate a 3rd party known to the child more than once a week. And she is stating she will only agree to 30 minutes once week to be reviewed after a month. She states that the other reason is the contact centre is only open once a week. Which is true.
Im pretty sure the court won't want to go backwards, they will want to see a progression in contact time I think
So, he currently has 2 hours once a week, and despite the recommendations to increase frequency of contact she not only refuses to increase the frequency, but also wants to reduce the contact to 30 minutes!
How does interim contact work? Who makes the decision on what it will be? His solicitor aren't particulaly helpful and getting information about how the process works is like getting blood from a stone.
Can his ex really do this? It is going to go to a contested hearing, no doubt about that. But in the meanwhile his child is being damaged further by this.
I should add that there is domestic violence, proven, but from the mother as the perpetrator and the father as the victim. Thus searching online as to what may happen is appearing fruitless as the courts own guidelines assumes the parent with care is the victim.
Your partner just has to remain calm and reasonable and keep chipping awayy at it, the courts are very patient up to a point, but they will usually take control and order progression whether the mother agrees or not. Good luck for today
I forgot to add, the 3rd party she has nominated is her current boyfriend. My boyfriend has absolutely no objection to him being present at contact, as he was present at the contact last year (june-oct) when he would go to his ex's house.
Will the court view this as acceptable? Provided he doesn't object?
Don't panic! Sorry I missed this, are you in court yet? I'm pretty sure the court will accept the boyfriend as a third party, if everyone's is happy with that.
He's in at 1pm.
He is trying to get hold of his solicitor and it keeps saying their office is closed. Not what you want on the day of court. His solicitor informed him on Friday via email they are sending a barrister. He has no idea how this will impact him as they don't know the case, no one has asked him what he wants... or if they are charging him for a barrister!
Oh! Ive just seen the edit to my post!
That's all helpful information. He can stop trying to get hold of the solicitors now! The main thing he was worried about was contact going backwards. And how much control the mother has in dictating the interim contact.
Who has the final say on the interim contact?
They will be charging him, no doubt about that! The bRrister will want to sit down with your partner to discuss the case, this is normal practice. Just make sure you are clear about your asks as you will have limited time to go over everything before goin in to the courtroom, how much earlier are you getting there?
As you know, there's no way of predicting what will happen, I can only tell you what generally happens, but it can go either way.
There's nothing to stop you preparing a brief response to her position statement, you've still got time. Use the search engine at the top of the page, just put position statement into it and you'll get lots of links to help you and a template too.
The court has the final say, but a lot depends on the calibre of judge and how firm a hold they have on the proceedings, if there's a weak judge, there's a weak outcome. We have a dad that has just posted that his contact has gone backwards, shocking, but it can happen unfortunately. That said it's not the norm... courts want to get progression going so that they can reach an end, nobody wants cases to drag on ad infinitum.
They better not be charging him as he hasn't been advised of this! Simply an email on Friday stating counsel ismail will be representing him. His solicitor is about to go on maternity leave and has had a lot of time off very recently. He is wondering if this is why. Surely they have a duty to inform of costs? He has already paid today's court fee and appearance fee.
Luckily (?!) he spent time last night writing his own position statement/response to hers (edited by me to remove the emotion). He has written an interim proposal, including a venue, with print outs of the sensory rooms, interactive rooms and soft play rooms (It's an inclusive soft play designed for children with additional needs, open to the general public and highly suited towards young babies). He has also set out what he wishes contact to look like in future. Including who drops off/picks up, holidays and special occasions.
I think that given the cafcass recommendation he surely can't be any worse off than he is now with 2 hours once a week. And all the research shows that young babies need frequent contact to build a relationship. The s7 report already states they think she is obstructive to contact despite assertions otherwise. So hopefully the judge will see her proposal for what it is (yet another attempt to delay any relationship developing and causing distress to their daughter for an even longer period).
I had a feeling you would be on the ball!
I suggest you make a point of discussing the fee with the barrister, you're right they do have a duty to inform you of costs, but you will have to do that with the solicitor in the first instance and then with the SRA if not satisfied. I would also keep trying the solicitors number to get clarification.
Best of luck
You should attach any evidence to a position statement, it's better to say you have photos of the venue with you if the court wishes to have sight of them.
That should say, ".. shouldn't attach any evidence to a position statement."
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