[Solved] BROKEN COURT ORDER

Hi rhianj

Sorry to hear that, have you spoken to your ex and told her how you feel about the way she going on? If so what did she say?
However what I can do for you is get in touch with our advice team and they can give great advice, however it may take a few
days to keep checking?

JJ

hi
i am in the exactly same situation as you.i havent seen my daughter for 4 months now.i cant afford to take it back to court and the legal aid system dosent work for me as i am married and in full time employment.again the fathers get second prize for trying to do the right thing.
i even tried contacting my daughters school to arrange to see her but they turned me down flat stating i could only see her when it is stated on my court order.
i really hope you can sort this out.its not nice.

hi
i am in the exactly same situation as you.i havent seen my daughter for 4 months now.i cant afford to take it back to court and the legal aid system dosent work for me as i am married and in full time employment.again the fathers get second prize for trying to do the right thing.
i even tried contacting my daughters school to arrange to see her but they turned me down flat stating i could only see her when it is stated on my court order.
i really hope you can sort this out.its not nice.

It's not something I'd want to do (I'd hate to stand up in court myself) but your best choice may be to appear in person, unrepresented, to sort this out. The courts don't take too kindly to court orders being broken, and you it should be fairly easy to prove that contact hasn't taken place.

Dear rhianj

Unfortunately, a lot of people find themselves in a position where they do not qualify for legal aid but they cannot afford a solicitor. It is therefore becoming increasingly common to represent yourself in court. This is called acting as a ‘litigant in person’.

Although it may seem daunting to have to represent yourself in court, judges are used to parties acting for themselves and should not use any legal jargon when speaking to you and explain matters clearly.

If there is a court order in place for joint residence and your ex-partner is breaching this without good reason then you can take the matter back to the court for the order to be enforced. Depending on when the order was originally granted, there may be a ‘warning notice’ attached to the original order. This states very clearly what the penalties may be for your ex-partner's breaches of the order. If the order was granted prior to December 2008 then it is unlikely that there is a warning notice attached.

If there is no warning notice attached then applying to the court for enforcement will be a two stage process. Firstly you should phone your local county court and ask them to send you the C78 and C79 form. It will also be beneficial to ask the court to send you the guidance notes CB5 which specifically relate to the enforcement of an order.

The C78 form will send a request to the court to attach a warning notice to the current order. Once the court has sent a warning notice to your ex-partner then you will have to wait until she breaches the order again before applying back to the court for enforcement.

If there already is a warning notice in place then you can skip straight to the enforcement stage. In order to apply to the court for enforcement it will be necessary to fill out the C79 form and return this to the court. There is an application fee of £175 however this should be the only fee that is payable. You may also qualify for remission of full or part of the fee. In order to determine whether you do qualify for a lesser rate please consult your local court.

Once the application has been sent to the court a date will then be arranged for a further hearing. The judge will want to see whether your ex-partner has acted reasonably or not in refusing to follow the order. Unless there is a very good reason not to, the court is likely to enforce the order. The court has discretion as to what penalties, if any, it uses to ensure parties comply with court orders. These penalties can range from unpaid work and fines all the way up to changing the residence to the other parent and in very extreme situations, imprisonment.

It may be beneficial to visit the Families Need Father’s website ( www.fnf.org.uk ) as they have a guide relating to acting as a litigant in person. If you require further advice regarding applying to the court then please do not hesitate to contact the Child Law Advice Line on 08088 020 008.

Kind regards

Children’s Legal Centre