[Solved] First Directions Appointment

Hello
My son has just gone through this with his ex, over their son. He was not represented. His ex was not represented either, but did have someone from PSU sitting with her, this person is not allowed to talk to judges or do anything else from what I saw. Prior to the day or on the day you need to prepare a position statement, detailing what you want and why, this needs to be brief but detailed. you need to give one to your ex and we did 2 for the courts. In our case there were 2 judges and court clerk present in court. You will be asked to attend one hour before actual time, this is so you can try to agree things before you go in. The judges will read your statement, call you both in and question you both, the court clerk is there to advise the judges on the law side of things. Because of your children's ages they may ask cafcass to get involved, they may talk to the children about what they want.. They will do safeguarding checks to make sure no concerns. For my son this was a 40 mins telephone interview. They will feed back to the court.. At the first hearing you will be given another court date, by which everything needs to be done by, could be around 2 months, maybe longer. The court will use the cafcass report and your 2nd statement to base the final hearing on. You could have more than 2 court hearings, depending on findings. I believe they will take in to account, that your children want this, it's a progression of what you already have, you live nearby, already have them overnight and take them to school. You need to think carefully about your statement, concentrating on the children and why this would be a good thing for them.

Thanks very much for your swift response.

It looks like I need to at least have my position statement ready for this first hearing.

How did your son get on?

Hi and welcome to the forum

Self repping isn't as daunting as it seems.

You need to prepare a short and concise Position Statement (no longer than 2 pages) that gives a bit of background, why you're making the application and what you would like the court to do. Given the children's ages, if they have a view on the matter, it might be helpful to mention that they have expressed a preference for such an arrangement.

Taking into account what you are asking for, and that the mother disagrees, the most likely outcome of the first hearing is that the court will ask CAFCASS to undertake a Section 7 Welfare report and for them to find out the childrens wishes and feelings on the matter.

If the report recommends shared care & the mother still disagrees, the court will order a final hearing and then make the decision for you both. I would anticipate this will take approximately 4 months with 2-4 hearings.

Good luck

Thanks very much Yoda...really helpful...

I am assuming that the Concise Position Statement will be required for the First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment? I have been informed in my letter this is only 15 minutes....

Thanks Again..

Mike

You're welcome.

Yep sorry, should have said......

Take it with you on the morning of the hearing and make 3 extra copies to hand in when you get there. 1 for the judge, one for the mother and one for Cafcass. You can hand these in to the usher.

It's perfectly normal for a FHDRA to last 15 minutes, especially when it is a case that doesn't have any potential to conclude with one hearing.