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Well I waited 12 months to have my contested contact hearing and this Wednesday I was in court with a new solicitor of my choosing, an incredibly favourable Cafcass report and officer in attendance who was recommending fr-sun one week and then a review in a few months to discuss holidays and altenate midweeek contact.
So we go into court, my new solicitor tells me to relax and go to starbucks for a coffee whilst he discusses matters with her barrister. I return and we go into court. She agrees to fri-sunday but not to alternate midweek. She agrees i can have my daughter for 1 day on the alternate weeks during the holidays. I tell him i want that alternate week and half holidays. he says we need to take a nibble at a timer and return at a later date (should my ex not start just offering me more off her own back as she has proved she in incabable of doing)
I say ok. he goes and chats with barrister and returns to say we are done for the day. On the way out of the building I ask when we are returning for the review and he says.....it is concluded, we are not returning, good luck for the future!
Now, i have waited a year for the opportunity of the court being able to overule her meagre offerings and I have walked away without giving them that opportunity. I have no alternate weeks contact and virtually nothing in the way of holiday contact. the scale of this lost opportunity was only apparant as i watched my solicitor walk accross the car park .
What does this mean? Will I have now, to submit another c100 and endure multiple direction hearings and a contested to apply for my requested holiday and alternate weeks??
My solicitor cannot see me until next week about this and i fear that would be far to late to do anything about this.
Can I contact the court directly to tell them I misunderstood the proceedings and do actually want to review this outcome?
I just contacted the court, case is closed and cannot be reviewed. I will have to take out new proceedings if i want to contest the order (which i have not read yet) Her barrister seems to have conjoured my solicitor into taking the bare minimum and walking away without asking the court to contest it. Ok, I should have cross examined my solicitor at every stage of the day to confirm exactly what he meant but he has 20 yrs experience. You would think he would have learnt to be a bit clearer with his clients. My mother was with me and was under the same impression as me that we would be returning to review this. There was lots of issues i wanted raising alongside the contact request and nothing has been resolved save for my weekend contact every 2 weeks.
I am baffled!
...Solicitors come in all shapes and sizes but I must admit that I am dismayed at how many Dads are dissatisfied with the sevice they have been given, and feel badly let down by them. My own son has sacked his solicitor and will be representing himself in future, and he's entitled to Legal Aid! ...so dissillusioned was he with his solicitors performance and attitude.
I would let the dust settle and re apply for an increase...I think it might be with a variance of the existing order but I'm not sure. It might be worth representing yourself, definately a lot cheaper, but you would be in control of proceedings and in a position to speak for yourself and put your feelings forward far more eloquently, and cover everything that you would like addressed.
There are two stickys at the top of the Legal Eagle section, one is the Contact Order C100 Guide which might be helpful if you decide to re apply and the other is A Guide to Representing yourself in Court.
Best to make the most of the crumbs you have been given but look to the future to put it right. Good luck. 🙂
I would complain to the partner at the solicitors you used, and explain that you were not aware of what was happening.
THat you hadn't fully understood what the solicitor meant and as a result of this, you never got the chance to go through the proper channels of the Court.
The least I would push for is some of the legal costs back.
YOu can also complain to the regulatory board of solicitors
Thanks both,
I really do appreciate getting the weekends. I am in a a million times better place than 12 months ago but am very disappointed with the rest.
My solicitor had changed because my previous one did not do anything they were asked to do so i had to go through the process of requesting a change from the legal services comission (see previous posts) so to get a bad result from a second solicitor was a great disappointment.
I was at a funeral yesterday, a guy i spoke to had 7 years of this nonsense with terrible allegations and contact centre supervised contact to start with and now he his ex is trying to push the kids on him 24/7 as she has a new busy life. It made my position seem fortunate and gave hope for the future so onwards and upwards and tomorrow is another day.
First time reading my daughter a bedtime story for 12 months tomorrow night so I will stop wingeing and go choose a book :))
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