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so last week i had my 'pre trial' as the judge had called it as i wanted to contest it
so long story short, did'nt see original judge, instead had another judge who was absolutely brilliant
arrived at court and her useless solicitor approached again and asked for a quiet word, i refused and said if you have anything to say then you can say in front of my partner. She had hardly any of my evidence and was in a complete fluster the whole day with absolute no preparation at all
told her i didint want to waste anymore time in court arguing with someone i never wish to speak to again and wanted the order discharged and i would make an undertaking, solicitor said her client wanted the order to stand
went into courtroom......and the judge tore them apart!!
told them that an undertaking with no finding of fact was completely acceptable by the court and that was the final decision with the original order completely discharged and i was to send the contact court a copy to stop my ex telling more lies :woohoo:
completely ripped into my ex telling her she should grow up and reinstate contact with my son immediately because it is having a serious effect on his welfare and said she was fully aware because she was a....CHILD JUDGE!!!
even told her solicitor to shut up lol
judge ordered that her solicitor draw up the undertaking and when we got outside the solicitor was trying to change the circumstances about 3rd party contact so i stood my ground and said no thats not what the judge said so we can go back in and see what she agrees
went back in and the judge ripped into solicitor again for going against judges decision and also judge said that she could see absolutely no reason whatsoever why contact with my son has been stopped, ex said its because i have mental health issues and the judge looked at her and said well i cant see his medical records and thats a rubbish excuse 🙂
so all in all...order discharged with a promise to the court with no finding of fact, 3rd party contact through my mum, her brother allowed and allowed direct contact with ex in case of medical emergency
so where now? this judge stated contact must resume immediately, directions from my FHDRA state contact is down to discretion of social worker appointed to conduct section 7 report
do i write to family court and ask that my FHDRA be brought back for new directions? because thats 2 district judges now that have stated in my non mole that contact should be resumed immediately AND SHE STILL WONT, i need to inform social worker because this is having a huge welfare impact on my son
i hope they will see this in my next contact hearing that she has been told several times to resume contact and still ignored judges advice
Judge stated that i should email her brother and ask for contact but my ex is entitled to refuse but by this being done through email, i then have proof to show contact hearing that my requests for contact have been declined which would not do her any favours 🙂
That's a move in the right direction! Well done for standing your ground.
When you send the family court a copy of the undertaking, you can explain what the judge had said about contact resuming immediately and ask for a return to court for new directions based on that...when is the next hearing? If it's fairly soon they may just leave the date as it is.
I would get onto her brother ASAP and try and get some contact going, and also the Social Worker that has been tasked with preparing the S7 and bring them up to speed with developments.
It's a good idea to prepare a brief position statement to take to the next hearing with you, where you can explain what happened and what you would like to happen moving forward.
All the best
Sounds like a step in the right direction, the frustrating part of course is that you are still not seeing your child, but keep doing what you are doing, your child will thank you one day.
my next contact hearing is in middle January so still some time off so i will write to family court and ask for new directions based on what the district judge said in hearing
Hi mavic
Thanks for sharing and that's great news on your non-mol
I don't want to burst your bubble but it's highly likely you won't get any new directions or an earlier hearing.......it's not impossible but very unlikely as there is a Section 7 going on and court availability will play a part to. I just don't want you to be disappointed if nothing budges. Keeping everything crossed for you that you get somewhere.
Don't forget that anything you send to court, you have to send a copy to the other side - in some cases, just them receiving a copy of what you have sent in will be enough to make them play ball.
As the judge said, keep everything via email and if she continues to refuse and you aren't able to get an earlier hearing or directions, you will have evidence of her refusals despite the non-mol being discharged.
Best of luck 🙂
thanks everyone, i have now spoke to the social worker appointed
he has said that he wants to come and visit my home and ask some questions such as where will my son sleep and other things and tbh id expect that and have absolutely no worries there as i live with my other 3 children permanently and we have plenty of room
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