[Solved] access

Hi Milligano,

Sorry to hear its been so tough for you recently. I can't help you personally but I'm sure someone will be on here soon enough to advise you further. A quick couple of questions that might help others as they help you:
Have you spoken to any solicitors yet?
What kind of financial arrangements do you have with the mother?

Hi

The system in England is generally still stacked against the father, but that is changing, as a few on here (including me) have managed to become the resident father - it is more difficult when the mother already has the child in her care, but it's not impossible. I don't know what the situation is in Scotland, but I'd have a word with the Scottish Child Law Centre - http://www.sclc.org.uk - and let us know how you get on.

hi thanks for the support i'm still paying the mortgage on a house we just bought and loans i let her take out in my name as well as hers so money is quite tight hence not going to a solicitor yet

wanted a bit of advice before i get myself deeper in debt

i know i can always pay off debt but my daughter has to come first i have to find out the best way forward

...I just wanted to say dont give up hope.
My son has residence of his 5yr old son so it does happen.
Because of the different laws between England and Scotland I wouldnt want to advise you and get it wrong...the only bit of advice I can give you at the moment is to try keeping a diary of everything that is said and done with dates, times etc. between you and your ex, in fact anyone thats involved...and keep any txts or emails. It definately helped my sons solicitor and barrister during court proceedings.
If the grandparents, who you say are drinkers, are known to police or other agencies, that might be a good enough reason to voice concerns to Social Services or other agencies...again when making contact with officials, keep a note of dates and times of all contact with them and ask them to log all contact too. My son regularly telephoned Social Services in the months running up to the fight for residence in court, but none of it was logged by them so there was no record of it ever happening! However when you go down this route the relationship with your ex could go downhill and she may stop contact. Its not easy but it can be done, and as actd says, the odds are stacked against Dads...
Good luck Milligano.

Hi There,

Nannyjane makes some great points, and I don't think I can really add to that other than to wish you luck and say we are here for moral support throughout.

Darren

Hi

Just to make clear, as far as I am aware, the Scottish Child Law Centre give free legal advice, so you don't need to incur any costs to get proper advice.

thanks everyone i will give them a call tomorrow actd and thanks again for all the advice