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Recently Dadtalk was sent the following email
I split with mother prior to the baby's birth March 2008.From being at the birth I have had only adhoc, supervised, very short meetings at the mothers home.I am named as the father on the birth certificate.
I work and have a good home life living with my parents who also are frustrated at not being able to see their grandchild.
Your advice/information would be of great help to me as I want to do the very best for my child despite my relationship to the mother.I believe I do have rights but other than solicitors and the courts are their organisations that can assist my quest.
This was forwarded to our partners over at the Children's Legal Centre - here is their reply
In terms of your rights towards your baby you do have parental responsibility as your name is on your baby's birth certificate. Parental responsibility in practical terms means the power to make important decisions relating to a child - for example, decisions about where a child is to live, whether a child should receive medical treatment, what religion the child should follow and which school the child should attend.
However in relation to the contact you have with your baby if there is not a contact order in place and your baby resides with the mother she has the right to control the contact time until there is an order in place. If you feel that the contact she is offering you is unreasonable you could try and offer your ex partner family mediation in the first instance to attempt to resolve the situation.
Mediation is a confidential, voluntary, "without prejudice" process in which a neutral third party, the mediator helps you to discuss and negotiate all issues surrounding your divorce or separation. Research shows that mediation improves communication and helps you build for the future in your new circumstances. In particular it can help your children maintain their family relationships. The contact telephone number for National Family Mediation is 01392 271610 and the website address is http://www.nfm.org.uk
It would be a good idea to write to your ex partner asking her whether she would agree to attend mediation with you. You should keep a copy of this letter for your personal records. If your ex partner does not agree to attend mediation or it is tried and turns out to be unsuccessful your last option is to make an application to the court for a contact order.
If you make an application to the court for a contact order the courts paramount concern and consideration will be the welfare of your child. Contact is presumed to be beneficial for children, unless it is clearly contrary to the child's welfare. Different types of contact can be ordered depending on the circumstances. Direct contact will be ordered, unless there are cogent reasons to the contrary affecting the child's welfare. If the court has concerns regarding the welfare of the child then an order for supervised or indirect contact can be made. Supervised contact takes place in the presence of a third party and indirect contact can include telephone and letterbox contact. There is a very high threshold for no contact although in exceptional circumstances this can be ordered by the court.
If you need to make this application to the court you will have to decide whether you feel you should instruct a solicitor or whether you feel able to act as a litigant in person (represent yourself in court).
If you wish to appoint a solicitor you can find a solicitor in your local area by visiting the http://www.lawsociety.org.uk website using the 'find a solicitor' facility.
You may qualify for legal aid and can be means tested by contacting Community Legal Service Direct on 0845 345 4345 who will inform you as to whether you do. If you do you can search on the law society website for a solicitor who takes on legal aid cases.
If you wish to act as a litigant in person you can download the necessary application form from http://www.hmcs.gov.uk . To make the application for the Parental Responsibility Order you are required to complete the C1 form. The fee is £175 to make the application.
You can also visit our website http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com to download a handbook on contact which may be useful.
We thought this advice might be useful to others too. Don't forget to check out the Legal Eagle section http://www.dadtalk.co.uk/articles/legal_eagle.php
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