[Solved] COURT TRIAL

Hi

Cafcass said exactly the same thing to my ex (complicated story, but I’m not the evil ex) the guardian assured him she would get contact reinstated ASAP, that the children needed a father etc etc. This however drove ex to up the stakes and make much more serious allegations that again got totally believed. Four years on ex has been totally exposed but the children all suffer emotional damage and his relationship with them is proving hard to restablish. Ex still has custody and is doing nothing the court ordered her to in order to promote him as their loving father. Don’t give up, just be aware it’s possibly going to be a long fight and things will happen that you will struggle to understand. I personally don’t see that courts are acting in the children’s best interests at all. Hearings are too far apart, reports take too long. Fathers are seen as the bad ones without any good cause. My ex had a very tough case, his ex was prepared to do anything to stop him seeing his children. She almost got him charged with something he didn’t do but she slipped up. Hopefully your ex is less troublesome.

Harli

Do courts always follow cafcass recommendations on interim contact?

Just my experience but yes the judge always agreed with Cafcass. My ex asked for interim contact at every hearing and was never granted it. Not even supervised contact in a contact centre.

Not always, but mostly they do.

Unfortunately it seems to be a lottery as to if you get a judge who sees errors with cafcass's opinion and sees the truth through the lies in evidence.

I had 4 judges and 1 cafcass officer who all saw the truth and all said the same thing....no reason for the ex stopping contact.
Then I had one cafcass officer totally ignore the previous 5yrs and four previous reports and go on the alleged wishes and feelings of a child who at 7 had not seen their father for 6mths and had been told their father was trying to take them away from their mum and have her put in prison.
That officer took child's word for it...and the exs lies as gospel and suggested no direct contact!
That report was full of contradictory statements, and under questioning in court accepted the 5yrs of previous contact and reports but said....that was then and today is now and that's what she has to go on.
The judge did exactly the same and went with the advice by cafcass officer.

Fast forward 2yrs and multiple hearings with a new judge who now sees the cr*p from the ex over the last 8yrs and I now have hope that the ex will be seen and dealt with but I fear too much time has now passed since I saw child and fear contact can never be re-established due to the alienation suffered by the ex.

It's a lottery and it shouldn't be....these people are playing got with our kids and our lives !