Morning all,
Brief description - in Aug 2020 my ex took my son from Spain to NI (Northern Ireland) without permission. Several months later the abduction culminated in an NI court with a CO issued.
The CO stipulated
- videocall every other day
- 50/50 holidays
- alternating Christmases
- minimum of 4 nights/5 days for me to be with him over in NI per month. I currently fly over, airbnb, hire car etc etc.
- no maintenance due to the abduction so long as I live abroad.
The ongoing and deteriorating situation I find myself in resembles 1 or 2 successful videocalls per month if lucky, WhatsApp messages from me asking if he is available are read and ignored, often for weeks at a time. When I attempt to call it either rings out or is 'call declined' - I try up to 5 times a day sometimes.
I rarely get to have him for more than 1 week per summer holiday due to all manner of excuses. I didn't get to have him for half of Easter - her and her partner told me that he only had 1 week off, the school verified this was false and he had 2.
The CO requires that I give 4 weeks notice to see my son which I find incredulous due to the kidnapping in the first place and makes it's a real ordeal to plan. This was apparently only set up to enable her to request work when I come over but she has no roster more than 1 week in advance.
What can I do about this lack of contact and CO adherence? I'm loathed to engage with a solicitor as they will of course want a lot of money before any sort of advice.
In all of your expert opinions, what would you recommend to someone at the end of their rope with contact?
All the best,
Hi,
Please see info below:
ENFORCING A COURT ORDER ISSUED BY THE FAMILY PROCEEDINGS COURT
If you seek to enforce an Order issued by a judge of the Family Proceedings Court, the process is governed by Article 112 of the Magistrates' Court Order 1981 and Rule 8 of the Magistrates’ Courts Rules 1984 - see Court rules.
What you have to do
To make an application for enforcement of an Order, you can ask the relevant court office, email in the first instance, to send you a template application for a summons for the party who is not complying with the Order, see NICTS contact details and Court office emails.
