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Hi,
New to site and looks amazing.
I’ll keep this brief and would love some advice ahead of seeing legal rep in a few weeks.
Father of twins and separated from ex wife for nearly 5 years. Very close to agreeing financial terms and decree absolute due soon.
We currently spilt care 55/45 in my favour but I do not have shared residency. My ex’s partner is now in prison for possession with intent to supply and my ex has a substance abuse problem but this will need to be proved. There is also a history of violence at her address when children present and drugs found on the last visit albeit she said they were her boyfriends. None of the maintence I pay or tax credits go on the children and they are always in ill fitting clothes and dirty when they come to me. They have been late for school over 100x in the last 3 years.
The children are known to the social services but they seem reluctant to do anything however the police are siding with me. This is just a nutshell of what is happening and I have decided to go to court to be the children’s primary carer so they get the support and nurture that is necessary for them to grow into responsible young adults. The children are nearly 9 years old.
My question is.... do I have a good chance of this?
Thankyou.
Hi there
When you say you don't have shared residency, do you mean that there's no court order in place?
As it stands at the moment, if you have the children 55% of the time, you should be claiming the child benefit, and further you shouldn't be liable for CM. If it were me, I would call the CB office and put in a claim for the CB as a matter of urgency.
Have the police dropped the children with you when they've been called to your ex's property, is there a CP plan in place for the children? Do you liaise with the school over attendance and other issues?
It's impossible to predict outcomes, no two cases are the same, but on balance you have a good chance. However, if you feel the children are at risk and you already have them the majority of the time, it's would be better not to return them and make an urgent, no notice application for them to live with you (Child Arrangements Order) and a Prohibited Steps Order to prevent there removal from your care.
If possible, get a letter from the school about their attendance and any other issues and also inform the SS that as you have the children most of the time, and due to the risks to them because of their mothers lifestyle, it's in their best interests to seek a court order to have them live with you...mention that you have the support from the police and ask for their support in this.
I would advise that you have proposals ready for how contact with the mother should continue, when and where etc. With the drug history you should also ask for drug testing. She may assert that her relationship with the guy in prison is over, you may suspect otherwise, but it would be difficult to prove. Look for evidence of this.
I would concentrate on your children's well being, how they present when they come from their mother, the lack of consistency at school, the police support for the children to live with you and the risks that they are frequently subjected to because of the violence and drug abuse. You can tell the court about this on supplementary form C1a, which you would submit alongside the C100 form, which covers both the CAO and PSO.
Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Best of luck
Thankyou for your response. I put in for an emergency application and the judge ordered an emergency listing to hear my ex wife’s view. This is tomorrow so wish me luck.
Thanks again for your reply. Much appreciated.
How did it go?
Hi,
My apologies for not responding sooner but things have moved on slightly.
The judge ordered a section 37 report and this was ordered to be done within 8 weeks. During this time my ex wife has been caught soliciting for drugs and been charged for drink driving. The report is recommending residency in my favour and contact only with my ex wife. It has been stated that the courts do not however have to follow the social services recommendation and it is just a guide.
We are back next week but does anyone have any advice with regards to the courts following such recommendations and can my ex appeal this?
Thanks in advance. It finally feels there is some light at the end of this very dark tunnel.
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