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Went to court as u said nanny jane, would have to apply again for residency order and would not get legal aid now as the case is closed.Interestingly the barister adviced they may well not grant it,,,,she said it would hold no weight with police getting him back if she took son,as they will only get involved if u have an emergency order.Her advice was to let things calm down for a few months,If we get any problems with her then to apply.That everything at court is kept,and that it is noted that i have him full time,also the fact she does not want contact of any kind was looked on badly by the judge,he said she had been very vindictive and had not had the decency to turn up.Was very shocked that the barister said time after time she has to apply to the court for a non returned child,as the police will not get involved at all.
Personally I would recommend still applying for Residence however if your Solicitor and Barrister advise differently, you must accept their advice.
The reason the police wont get involved is they recognise that both parents have Parental Responsibility, all they would do is visit mother and do a safeguarding check, and return the child to you only if that check proved the child in danger. A Residence Order would give the police the power/authority to return the child to you.
However the Barrister could be right, if she wants no contact, allow things to calm down, but if she starts again, apply for an Emergency Order.
Hi there ianandrew 🙂
...I thought as much, as she was the applicant....I had hoped your Legal Aid certificate might have been for a duration, not just the length of the case. As I said though it wont be so hard to self represent because it would be non contested and as far as I'm concerned, cut and dried!
As you know I'm not legally trained and dont claim to be, but my common sense tells me that the sooner you get that Residence Order the better...why wait until she's causing problems as before? That makes no sense to me, and as far as a Residence Order carrying no weight with the police, well thats plain wrong information! If you wait a few months then she starts again, the next judge might not be interested in dredging up past events and could well give her the benefit of the doubt!
I cant help but feel you have been misinformed and wrongly advised by your barrister... and I dont think that you must accept their advice at all!! I think you should capitalize on the momentum of the courts feelings towards the mother and apply now.
If you are on benefits or low wage you can get an exemption for the £200 court fee and we will all help you as much as we can, but you know it wont be a long drawn out affair, she didnt bother to turn up this time, she wont get free legal representation next time, and she has already stated she wants nothing more to do with your son.
Anyway thats my opinion for what it's worth, lets see what our expert members think...this is the trouble with the professionals, especially in the legal field, people think they are never wrong and cant be challenged! I wish I had been sitting with you when the barrister was "advising" you....fobbing you off more like!
So come on guys opinions please!
If I have this right, your ex doesn't want residency, nor does she want contact? If that's the case, then I would argue that if you went for residency if gives a lot of stability. NJ and EnyaM aren't qualified solicitors, but I'd still trust their opinions over that of a lot of people who are, and this is definitely one of those occasions 🙂
...just bumping this post up to see if we can get some more opinions....we would value a few more please! 😉
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