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Looking for a little advice here
Ive not seen my daughter since she was 3 and now shes going on 10 her mum refused to tell me where she moved to and married again with another child.
I recently found out where she is and now not to sure which is the best way to go either via court or mediation.
Can anyone offer a little advice
Thanks in advance
Hi there jbh, a requirement in applying to the court is that you attempt mediation first. If mediation doesn't work for whatever reason then you can apply to court for an order. If you do manage to agree to contact in mediation, remember, mediation is non legally binding-the mother's not bound to any agreements made. You might want to request the court make an order from the agreements. But seeing as your ex had no intention of letting you know where she was taking your daughter, I'd guess she's not going to 'play nicely'. Get in touch with a local mediator first for an appointment to attend a MIAM (Mediation Information Assesment Meeting), if your ex agrees to go, you can go from there. If she refuses, or neither of you agree on matters concerning your daughter, then you will need the mediator to sign section 14 of the c100 form to say your exempt from mediation, to apply for a court order.
Id recommend reading the 'What to expect from mediation' and 'Contact Order: Guide to c100' posts on the first page of the forum if you need any information regarding mediation or the c100 court application.
Hope this helps, this is my second time taking my ex to court, but my daughters worth it 🙂
Theres lots of knowledgeable and helpful people on here too, so don't be afraid to ask. Good luck, And welcome to the forum 🙂
Hi There,
The above is spot on and great advice, if your ex won't attend mediation or you can't reach an agreement, the mediator will give you a form that can be submitted with your court application, When and if you file the application, I would ask for an interim order to be made, this will mean that the judge should hopefully be able to order contact of some sort start straight away, instead of further down the line, if you don't ask for an interim order to be made in the initial application it isn't always available so get it in there if you have to apply to court.
Also be realistic about the sort of contact to ask for, you haven't seen your daugher for 7 years and she is at an age where she will struggle with things herself, so when you trying to sort contact, go softly with the approach, it is't unusual for supervised contact too happen to start with, either with a family member (on your ex's side) or at a contact centre while adjustments are made to seeing a parent after a long period, so bear this in mind.
and anything else you need just ask.
GTTS
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