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I'm a bit confused about this. I had a final hearing and the Cafcass report said we should basically sort things out ourselves as there were no risks. I agreed, and the court order says very little except to start off in an assisted contact centre.
Now I'm wondering. I don't have PR, so how will things go after this? Can I legally have my girl overnight or unsupervised without PR? Cafcass didn't highlight a need for PR and I didn't really understand all this at the time, I just wanted contact asap. Have I been stitched up a bit?
Hi here
I think you may have been, although stitched up might be too strong a term.
It's usual for CAFCASS to recommend that parents try and negotiate between themselves and that no further CAFCASS involvement is required as there are no risks. That doesn't mean that the court shouldn't award PR and make an order for contact to start in a contact centre, a good judge would have then ordered a review hearing after 6 months to see how contact was going and progress it to unsupervised in your home.
Without PR your position is less secure, but it would only have effect if the mother wanted to prevent you from having information from the school or doctor...if she wanted she could stop contact at any time and you would have to go back to court again, as your order is too vague.
Is there a time frame mentioned in the order for how long you must see your daughter in a contact centre? Are you able to negotiate progression with the mother.
If you can't negotiate with your ex and you have only very recently had the final hearing, you could try writing to the judge that made the order and asking if it would be possible to schedule a review hearing in six months time, as the mother is still being obstructive and you feel you will be unable to progress contact outside of the contact centre, unless this is clearly defined in an order.
All the best
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