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ADJOURNED HEARING
There is a Final Hearing in April of this year
2. The father shall file with the court and serve upon the mother a statement by 24th February
3. The mother shall file with the court and serve upon the father a statement by 10th March
What kind of Statement is this to be filed nearly six weeks before the hearing? Is this a Statement or a position statement - what is the difference between the two?
What do I need to include?
I have a barrister for hearings only he has said if I prepare a statement he will look at it and tweak it FOC on account the last hearing which cost me £1000 for 20 mins for a hearing which was adjourned. The respondent mother arrived without representation and insisted on being represented despite two months notice (this was an Enforcement Hearing brought by myself for her continuous breaches of the Contact Order this hearing could also have been used as a final hearing - the mother refused).
Instead It has been suggested I attend a parenting course, so the mother feels more faith in my capabilities to care for my son - i don't think i will get overnight access unless i do this, it is just one more demand from the Mother - does anyone know any court approved courses?
I have jumped through hoops since i began this whole process in January 2015. It has cost me thousands and I am always on the back foot. DNA, Drug & Alcohol testing, (which were clear) assisted and supervised visitation (all at my personal expense) now I am at the point of coming up to 6 1/2 hours visitation but what I want is weekend access, holidays, etc. To be perfectly honest I would like shared living arrangements as my son is used as a weapon to hold against me for not being with her.
My son has been Christened without my knowledge or invitation, been away on holiday to Spain without my notification, I have had many visits where she has unattended and of late cancelled - as you can see my parental rights mean nothing.
Do I list the history or just the events from the last hearing? My ex has been described as implacably hostile in court and continues to be so. I never got to see my son boxing day as allegedly my son was ill, i now have access to his medical records and am able to see his doctor which she is fuming about.
I fill in a contact book with what he has done in the 4 1/2 hours of my weekly visit his activities when and what he ate when he napped, all i get it in return is what time he ate breakfast and he has had his nappy changed on the morning of collection - nothing from his prior week, it is meant to show his weekly activities and routines, it is a one-way book i'm getting fed up of.
I would appreciate any advice anyone can give me as I have to be ready for this final hearing this is my last shot for my son and me to have a half way and fair chance of knowing each other I am totally addicted to him but every effort to see him more or just have the visitation i am court ordered to have is frustrated.
I am current with CMS payments, although she is constantly applying for reviews, I and my family buy clothes and toys for him which has never even acknowledged by her - I want to be a good Dad and in my sons life I am totally addicted to him and cant stop looking at our photos and videos together from our visits but think I am going to have grief for many years to come. I have mentioned several times mediation but everything falls on deaf ears, we have both attended the SPIP course but there has been no change from her.
Two more legal questions:
1. I have had my sons birth certificate re-registered to show me as the Father as it was blank before hand but the Mother refuses all requests to change his surname to mine, can this be done without her consent?
2. The Mother has taken my son abroad on holiday to Spain without notifying me, would my son have his own passport or has she added him to her passport in some way - I'd love to take him on holiday with my family this year, how do I do this do I apply for a passport?
Please help with my Statement if anyone can. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi
Your order should state whether it is a position statement or a statement of evidence. It's worth having a look at the wording before or after the two points quoted.
In these circumstances, it would usually be a statement of evidence which would be background, current situation and what you would like the court to do and attach any relevant written evidence you have.
It's common with the contact book for mothers just to write down anything that's relevant for the child's time with their father, you can't force her to play nice on that score and it's unlikely to go in a final order unless the barristers can get her to agree to it.
You can't change the surname without her permission - if you want the court to deal with that as well, you will need to complete a C2 and ask for a specific issue order on that.
If you want to take your son on holiday abroad, you need to get this into the order with details on what happens for the passport to be passed back and forth between you. It would seem your son already has a passport if he's been abroad already.
Hope that covers it, feel free to keep posting and we will do what we can to assist you.
Best of luck
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