[Solved] child contact

Hi Raj,

Welcome along.

I would try and see if you can get her to attend mediation to try and resolve the issue over the holiday time, If you can get it sorted in mediation then you can have it written up by a solicitor.

If you feel she simply won't comply then you can apply to the family court for an enforcement order to ensure she does, I would try mediation first though and listen to what reasons she has to changing what had been put in place.

Darren

Thanks Darren , I was eagerly waitiing for someone reply. We have tried mediation earlier which has failed miserably. She always has a reason (whether rational or not) for everything. She will do the same thing if ever she agrees to anything, and I fear I will end up wasting time and money. Holidays are approaching fast and I need to get something concrete. If i wish to go down the court route, what is it that I need to do. Please help me on the process, what forms, any other advice etc

Thanks again
Raj

Raj,
Enforcement Order sounds the thing you need to be looking at if mediation is not possible with your ex.

Take a look at post is the Legal section regarding Enforcement Orders / or Breaking of Contact Orders.
I’m among a few on here who’ve recently been enquiring about them, I’ve had to apply for one and hearing is coming up next week (Snow permitting).

Before you can apply for an Enforcement order you need to have had a Warning notice attached to the contact order, if you’ve got that then its simply filling out the C79 form and sending it off to the courts £200 unless your eligible for reduced fees or legal aid.

If you’ve not got a warning notice then you need to apply to have the Contact order amended to add this and reinforce the contact times/days/holidays etc…

I seem to have received a response from Nannyjane which I can see on my email but not here. But to answer the question , I don't have C100 contact order in place. This was a part of divorce settlement. Is the order still good enough, because she is dishonouring it, saying the child finds it difficult to stay for an extended period so she wont let me have him. What do I need to do?

Thanks
Raj

HI

I intend to submit a C100 application. Can someone please advice what exactly is the difference between contact order and shared residency. I tried reading up but couldnt get a clear difference. Which one should I be going for ? I have parental responsibility.

Thanks
Raj

I will ask the Coram Children's Legal Centre to pop by and explain the difference for you.

Keep checking back.

Gooner

Dear Raj

Thank you for your post.

As you were married to the mother of your child you have Parental Responsibility for him. Parental Responsibility is defined in s.3(1) Children Act 1989 as being: "all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property".

Practically Parental Responsibility means that both parties should consult and consent on issues such as schooling, medical issues, change of name, removal from the jurisdiction and other major issues concerning the child.

From the information you have provided it appears that the contact that was agreed during your divorce was made in the Statement of Arrangements and not in a Contact Order. A Statement of Arrangements is not a legally binding document.

Contact is always seen to be the right of the child and not the right of the parent and contact should not be stopped or restricted unless there are any welfare concerns.

The first stage that we would advise is mediation. However as you mention that you have already attempted this it may be more suitable to apply straight to the courts. If you do wish to try mediation again please do contact National Family Mediation on 0300 4000 636.

In terms of the difference between contact and shared residence, applying for contact would be requesting contact times and dates for you to have with your son. Applying for shared residence would be requesting that your son reside with you part the time with you and part the time with his mother. This doesn't necessarily have to be a 50-50 split of your son's time.

To make an application for a Shared Residence or a Contact Order you would need to complete a form entitled a C100. This form can be obtained from www.justice.gov.uk or from your local Family Proceedings Court. There is a fee of £200 for this application. If however you are eligible for a fee exemption you can complete a fee exemption form entitled EX160a. Once you have completed the application form you need to hand it in to your local Family Proceedings Court along with the relevant fee and the Court will then contact you with a hearing date.

Something that you may want to look at when applying to the Courts is the Welfare Checklist. This is a guide that all Judge’s must follow when deciding whether to grant a Contact Order.

a)The ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned (considered in light of his age and understanding);
b) His physical, emotional and / or educational needs;
c) The likely effect on him of any change in his circumstances;
d) His age, [censored], background and any characteristics of his, which the court considers relevant;
e) Any harm which he has suffered or is at risk of suffering;
f) How capable each of his parents and any other person in relation to whom the court considers the question to be relevant, is of meeting his needs;
g) The range of powers available to the court under the Children Act 1989 in the proceedings in question.

Should you require any further legal advice please do not hesitate to contact us via our webchat facility which can be found at www.childrenslegalcentre.com and is available Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm.

Yours sincerely

CORAM CHILDREN’S LEGAL CENTRE

Thank you so much for the response. I will be filing a C100 on that basis as its a matter of concern that the divorce/settlement order isnt a legally binding document, and she may break my contact on her whims.

Raj