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Hi All,
Im new to this forum.
I am currently going through a custody case with ny ex.
To date I have attended a fhdr & a second hearing.
cafcass have completed safe guarding & are not starting an s7 unless the court orders it.
My ex is claiming domestic abuse, and fear that I will hurt our baby. He is only mnths old. I have non mol order and prohib steps on me.
Ex has also alleged i assaulted her and i am on still on bail.
I have been attending supervised contacts which ex will only agree to, had plenty so far and reports have been amazing.
I have a fact finding soon, ex has listed her allegations and I have replied with my statement.
But before that i have a directions hearing.
Would anybody know what this would be about. Is it a review hearing for the supervised contact sessions? If so should I request unsupported until the fact find hearing.
Is there anything I should be prepping for the hearing like bringing along my reports?
What is a position statement and would it be of use, what kind of things would I write.
How long have you seen supervised sessions go on for, if ex keeps insisting only supervised, can the judge over rule and move to unsupervised after a period of time?
Sorry for all the questions, my brains been running on over load!
Hi all,
Any thoughts on this.
Im really nervous about the hearing this week and dont know what to expect
Thanks
The court will probably good softy softy - if Cafcass have stated no concerns then you should get progression to unsupervised contact. It drag out for a while.
Hi there
A directions hearing is generally a short hearing to sort out procedural and practical matters and to get the case ready for a hearing where a full decision will be made. It might be here that the judge orders an S7 for instance.
As there has been allegations made I doubt you would be successful in moving contact to unsupervised until after the finding of fact hearing.
It's always best to have a file of all of your paperwork, reports, evidence etc and take it with you to each hearing.
A position statement is used to tell the court a little about the situation and to bring the court up to date with any changes....as you have recently filed a statement, unless there's anything you wish to,add to that, I can't see that a position statement is required.
Generally supervised contact lasts as long as there there are any possible safeguarding issues. The fact finding Is designed to address the allegations and a decision made. Once this has taken place the case can move forward to the final hearing, if the fact finding hearing decides that thre are no grounds for the allegations then you can ask for an interim order for unsupervised contact...but it might not happen until,the final hearing.
Use the search tab at the top of the page to look for previous posts about fact finding hearings and anything else you're looking for information about. If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to ask.
All the best
Hi,
Thanks for the advice.
Could the hearing be to decide how things should proceed forwards from what they are now. As the courts now have more information available to them, that is the reports from the contact centre plus Cafcass, there is no reason to keep things as they are?
How long does an s7 report take, & after fact find how long would a final hearing be?
It depends on the judge, but deciding how things should proceed is directional, making decisions about moving contact on before all reports and the facts of your case has been decided isn't, strictly speaking. You can ask the judge to consider it and you might be lucky, but in my experience courts move slowly and cautiously until they have the full facts of the case in front of them.
You might find the book by Lucy Reed "The Family Court without a Lawyer: A Handbook for Litigants in Person" helpful in explaining how the court works and how to navigate through the process.
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