[Solved] Mobile Phone Access To Daughter

Hi, he can by all means provide his daughter with a phone but there is no guarantee that the mother won't try to prevent this.

You mentioned they had been to court? If they have an order that includes indirect contact but the mother breaches this, he can apply to the court for enforcement of the order.

Thanks for that response. I will urge him to try that. She keeps breaching things like sleeping over but seems to get away with it by saying it's psychologically too upsetting to the child to have to sleep over. Can you get an order to include very specific details, like indirect contact through a cellphone provided by the father which is to be left charged, on, and available to the child for the sole purpose of allowing the child to communicate with her father via text messages and phone calls." ? do you think specifying those details might help because I anticipate she will somehow manage to try manipulate the situation by saying the battery was dead etc etc.

How come she gets away with it? If there is an order in place and she is continually breaching it then Dad has the right to apply for enforcement. It will then be the court that looks into whether the child is psychologically upset or not, mothers have been known to exaggerate such claims to prevent contact! If the child is experiencing psychological harm the court would expect to find some to evidence of that.

If a parent wants to make changes to the order and agreement can't be reached informally, an application to vary the order can be made, but mediation would need to be tried first as it is a requirement before application....except in the case of an enforcement application, mediation iis optional then.

Indirect contact by phone can be specified in an order, if it was discussed and agreed during the previous proceedings and hasn't been followed through that would strengthen having definition in any preceding orders.

He applied for an enforcement, it went to court, child welfare deemed the child to be psychologically fine ready to sleep over. But every time they try the daughter now runs off and hides. So it's just a very expensive looping process because if after the court has enforced it, it is still not happening, you have to go back to court??? In reading about this I am trying to figure out how fathers who don't earn a lot manage to enforce any court orders because the cost of the solicitors and barrister make this a very unfair way of handling breach of order.

You could consider going for residence - it's rare but it's possible - the Rebecca Minnock case was the well known case where reisdence was granted to the father exactly because the mother was breaching contact orders.

You could apply for enforcement and ask that it is made clear in any new order that should the present one not be complied with, you will be seeking a change of residency.

You could suggest that handovers for sleepovers are done temporarily via a contact centre so that you have a record of whether the child wants to go or not. If previous cafcass involvement has not found any reason for the overnights to be taking place, I doubt that will have changed. The child is almost old enough for her to be spoken to by cafcass in further court proceedings too.

I would definitely be applying for enforcement.