[Solved] hello all

Hi, welcome to the forum. Tell us about your self

Hi there and welcome 🙂

We're here to listen and to help where we can!

Thanks for the welcomes ,i wasn't sure to post here or if there is a diff board etc lol . OK me and my ex divorced a few years back ,we have two kids 14 and 9 . As to access to them its sticky . I have them wed night for two hrs then they stay over on Friday night till sat night . This works until she decides she hates me again and stops access . She only stops access for a week or two then all goes back to normal . My problem is her stopping me picking them up is happening a lot more lately .This evening i was told my 9 year old son was crying to see me,she stopped contact again this weekend and her partner was apparently laughing at him . I need to get access to them legally as she is playing with all our lives and its killing me . Whats my next step bearing in mind I'm skint as i earn peanuts and csa takes most of it lol . Sorry i know its a long second post but i'm lost .
mrbunch

Thanks whats my first step to getting a court order ,do i just walk in to court or is there a form i need etc ??

Hi
you need to fill in a c100 you can download it from the
www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/family/formspage

you can fill it in on line but you cant save it, you will need to print it off, it will cost you £200 , on the form it will ask you what you are applying for and its now called contact. On section 7 it asks you why you are applying, you can put this on a seperate peice of paper as its not really big enough, just explain see attached sheet.
you need to send it to the family court/magistrates nearest where your children live. you need to ask for a defined contact order and explain she stops and starts contact, try to keep to the direct point. you can also define holidays, birthdays, Christmas. The court will ask why you have not tried mediation, do you think she will go if you set it up ? mediation isnt cheap but you can get legal aid still at the moment and it sounds like you may be eligable. you can get the £200 court fee reduced if you are on a low wage etc. If you take her to court it will take about 6 weeks to get the first hearing. If you go through the solicitor route it can take months and months. I think I would see if you can get legal aid for mediation first, then if this fails take her to court

Thank you all so much ,well i work diff hrs every week but it roughly rounds up to about £150 a week min .I know for a fact she wont do mediation as she was taken to court by another father of a child she has and refused point blank .We do not speak apart from a text i usually get a few hrs before in due to pick them up saying there not coming with me as she has plans etc .

Hi there,

If your going to apply for a Contact Order there are a couple of stickys at the top of the Legal Eagle section that would be worth reading, one is called the Contact Order C100 Guide and gives lots of useful information and a step by step guide to filling it in. The other is called A Guide to Representing yourself in Court.

If you're on a low income you would most likely qualify for Legal Aid. This would also cover the cost of Mediation. It might be worth contacting the Mediation Service and talking to them about the problems your having with contact. They would invite your ex to mediation and if she refuses, then that will go in your favour at court, as it illustrates her unwillingness to try and reach an agreement with you. If she agrees to attend then at least it will give you the opportunity to discuss the issues with a trained mediator to guide you both. If mediation doesnt work, then at least when you go to court you can tell the judge that you had tried to resolve it informally. The court may not feel it necassary to order you to try it then, and this will speed things up. Heres a link ~ www.nfm.org.uk

If you find you are not eligible for help with the costs, there are quite a few Dads on here that have successfully represented themselves, so try not to worry too much about that.

Something else I should point out is the issue of Parental Responsibility. If your children were born before 1st December 2003 and you werent married to the mother, then you will not have PR. If this is the case then you will also need to apply for this, it can be done at the same time as the Contact Order and you would need Form C1. If you dont have the facility to download the forms from the justice website, you can pick them up from the family court, there should be one that is local to you.

Good luck with everything 🙂