[Solved] Mckenzie freinds

Hello I'd like to begin with bits of my experiences about employing a McKenzie friend.

My ex announced but she was going to relocate and she's already handed her notice in in October 2017,told me November said she's moving December she said she didn't know where and to get back to her in December. My 4 year old son basically told me that it was going to be up north 180 miles away from where I was. I really wanted to get some child arrangements sorted with her I wanted to be able to pick him up from school and have him overnight -still she wasn't agreeing to any of that -she suggested that I go up and stay in a hotel and see him during the day. I decided that there was not enough information and I could make emergency prohibited steps order to the court. I decided to get some legal advice. The McKenzie friend I found was the first one on Google ads he seemed like a bit of a geezer but seemed knowledgeable. However it was expensive £150 for initial consultation of two hours and then £50 there after per hour still it was cheaper than 500 an hour for a barrister.

At court in December The prohibited steps was allowed on the basis not on the basis of the McKenzie friends advice but on the basis that my ex has brought out false safeguarding concerns that the judge said needed investigation. At this point I was looking at another court date in January and possibly another one after that for full child arrangements. I decided not to dispute the prohibited Steps as my son would have a better life the mother needed to move from expensive place and needed to clear her head. My McKenzie friend announced that things were going up from 50 to 75 per hour which annoyed me a bit but I only thought I needed 3 or 4 more hours with him -it's never like that! My ex delayed and lawyered up. They sent me a child arrangements order just before Court and told me not to reply by email but to speak to the barrister in court representing her -someone different!

My McKenzie friend was always in the car or in between court cases in court when ever I phoned him and didn't seem to have my notes whenever it was always on the hop and I had to explain things to him he never had my papers in front of him. I was trying to do this on the cheap because I thought I had reasonableness on my side. Stupidly I just talked to her barrister at 2nd court date but she did not put down my concerns about school pick-ups and not needing the mothers consent for him to stay elsewhere other than the paternal grandparents. I also wanted some sort of prohibited steps to keep her in the jurisdiction to avoid me Chasing her around the [censored] country for next 5 years. 3 days after, I don't understand why I did it but her lawyers gave me a short deadline to sign a short section of the child arrangements saying she would come down halfway and drop my son off for the weekend every other weekend. I signed it. Stupid of me because it referred back to the child arrangements for the previous Court date. The next day she's in school with a copy of the court order joined up by her solicitors saying I can't pick my son up from school ever. I go up to pick him up and she's taking him out of School early just spite me. I mean I've been picking him up every Tuesday or Wednesday for two years to go swimming.

I didn't use my McKenzie friend because he was too expensive and I thought I've got the prize of him coming to stay with me still. So I was stuck with having to try and go back to court or try and stop the court order. McKenzie friend said that I could try and stop it saying that I've been hoodwinked and I kinda had been but he said I'll need definitely need him for the court. I paid in £512 for a court day for this McKenzie friends just to turn up. However It got cancelled at the last minute because the court order came through the door a week before the date in march 2018. The judge's obviously seen that I've signed the front page of something and made a consent order using all of the stuff from January written up by her lawyers. In February 2018 My McKenzie friend told me not to talk to her lawyers which I probably should have done looking back. I should have tried to negotiate a new consent order whilst it hung in the balance. He also charged me a massive cancellation fee £300 and also took another hour and a half of time off that for trying to sort out stuff with her lawyers in march.

So to sum it up I still have to go back to court my McKenzie friend has still not paid me back my money from the £512 refund (200). I mean it was my fault that I signed a court order without going through it with a really fine tooth comb and thinking about what possibilities that are for the future for the child arrangements. I shouldn't have been rushed by her solicitors I should have printed everything off and gone through everything and also obtain proper legal advice even from my McKenzie friend. I could have got everything sorted there and then instead I have to go back through mediation and also travel up to where she is now living to go back to court to change the court order to try and see my son if I'm ever up there during the week after school. Plus the child arrangements is inadequate because I don't get to see him for a month now because her half-term falls on my weekend. So my advice is really make sure you do your research negotiate a price you are comfortable with with your McKenzie friend don't be agreeable with them try and do as much research as you can yourself can go to your child arrangements order with a fine tooth comb. Make sure your McKenzie friend is LOCAL - mine was from Wrexham and he had to get to East London which was ridiculous! Plus your McKenzie friend is not legally trained they don't know everything sometimes they know better then lawyers but every case is different and you just have to try and get the best for your child.

The stress is unbelievable. But Have to be patient or die trying!