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Not sure where to start.... Went to court unrepresented last week for an emergency Prohibited Steps Order, I was granted a partial order. Bit grey really. Ex can still see kids but needs to stick to the plan we have historically been doing for the last 2 yrs. Date come through for FHDRA I didn't realise this was triggered. I can't afford £3k which is what I've been quoted for a solicitor. I know I can represent myself but is that sensible given the severity of court. CAFCASS have been instructed to make a report to the court. My ex husband has been using the children to hurt me and mentally abusive, one occasion of physical violence in 2014 reported. Sadly my kids are being used by my ex and my eldest child is showing signs of this. (9 and 6 yrs old). My wish would be to have shared contact as they are so young and they want time with us both. This is not about trying to gain full custody.
Any help suggestions would be gratefully received - thank you.
Plenty of people self-rep. It's not as hard as you think. Shared contact is a sensible and reasonable suggestion and one I suspect the father is likely to agree with.
As you now have a FHDRA coming up, CAFCASS will carry out safeguarding checks and speak to both of you on the phone before providing a letter to the court with their recommendations. If you tell CAFCASS that you are proposing shared contact, that will go in their letter to court.
The FHDRA is pretty straight forward. Both parents speak to CAFCASS individually before going in to the court and if you can agree about the matters, the court can make an order about what you agree with. If you are not agreeing, the court will need to decide whether a more in depth CAFCASS report is necessary. Either way, if you can't agree, there will have to be a further hearing so I wouldn't worry about having a barrister or solicitor for that one if money is tight.
Thank you for your reply. Are there any links to examples on how to write my position statement? Should I now invite my ex husband to a mediation session to try and agree a plan or is this a waste of money when it's clear he won't engage in communication, I fear him and his behaviour as he's been vile towards me. Thank you in advance
You need to be safe, and if his actions are putting you at risk, then you need a solution that satisfies this - you could use a contact centre for handovers, which means you wouldn't have to come into contact with him directly, but his time with them would be away from the contact centre, so not restricted by anything other than the times, and you can say that you are happy to dispense with the contact centre once his behaviour towards you is deemed safe.
Thank you
Is a Mckenzie friend a good option as if im self representing
Any example questions cafcass ask in the phone call?
Thank you again
It depends on whether you are confident in doing all of the work yourself, but if any doubt, then definitely consider a McKenzies friend - try to find one through a recommendation.
Hi there
When you say that the violence against you was reported, if there is a record of domestic violence within 5 years of a family court action, you may be eligible for legal aid for a solicitor, depending on your financial situation, it's something that might be worth looking into.
As mentioned in your other topic, there's a sticky about Cafcass interviews thats worth a read. I'll dig out some info on position statements for you.
All the best
Here's some info on writing statements and a template
www.thecustodyminefield.com/flapp/positionstatements.html
www.thecustodyminefield.com/flapp/statement.html
www.mfjc.co.uk/home/mfjccou1/public_ftp/...ldren-March-2013.pdf
www.familylawquestions.co.uk/page9/page12/page19/
Thank you I'll check out the links
You're welcome, do let us know how you get on and if you'd like someone to look over your statement just drop any of us message and we'll do our best to assist.
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