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Hi i didn't know where to put this so ive put it here
i have a 2 and a half year old, me and His Mum split about 18 months ago and i was seeing my son every weekend, he stayed over Saturday nights, but since Christmas stopped this to just Saturdays during the day, i think he has stayed over 2-3 times since Christmas. I have had to put up with whatever she allows since i cannot afford to go to court, is the anything i can do?
Today i even asked to take him out for tea for an hour, yes only an hour and she hummed and harred about it, saying she was going to take him to see her new house if she got the keys, but he'll be moving in on Friday why does he have to see it when i want to see him, Whenever i want to see him she makes excuses, surely i should be able to make decisions regarding seeing my son and not just her? it's really starting to get to me now
Any advice would be great
Thanks
Hi There,
welcome to the forum,
Your in a situation lots of us have found ourselves in I'm afraid, but all is not lost.
It may be worth trying to see if your ex will attend mediation to resolve your issues the mediator should be able to promote a good level of compromise between you to allow you to gain a mutual agreement.
If this doesn't work then court may be the only option, court doesn't need to cost a lot though and you can apply and represent yourself throughout to keep the cost low, so you would only pay the court fees.
There is a guide to applying for and representing yourself through the court proccess in the legal section so have a read through.
Darren
Hi Darren Thanks for the quick reply
Problem with representing myself in court is im not very confident, i don't think i could stand up and talk in court, well not with being positive towards my case, Mediation is an option, nearest mediation place is about 60-70 miles away thought so getting there etc would be a problem
I'll give you the fact that it does take some courage to represent yourself in court, but it is easier than you would think and talking to the judge isn't as daunting as you would think, they are used to people going in on thier own and the stewards at the court can help with what to expect as well.
I went through court alone and managed to get a good result, the judge will be able to see and hear the way you react to the situation and will be able to judge these reacting in a way they could if you were talking through a solicitor.
I would give it some serious thought as if you can't gain any resolution through mediation then court may be your only option.
We are all here on the site for guidence and advice a few of us have gone through court without solicitors and are happy to share ouir experiences.
Darren
Hi
I didn't represent myself so don't have direct experience, but I can say that I knew everything to say in court as I'd done lots of preparation, and that's the real key to representing yourself - make sure everything is filled in correctly and on time, and that you try to think of everything possible she can come up with and have answers ready. If you are thoroughly prepared, then all you have to worry about is your nerves and those will vanish soon enough once you i court.
Ultimately, you are in a position where if mediation doesn't work, then you really have nothing to lose by representing yourself in court, and we're here to give as much help as you need.
ACTD is right, I went with everything I wanted, I tried to come up with the objections I would face and had answers ready for them, As it happened I didn't need any of it but I felt better for having it ready in case I needed.
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