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Hi all,
Today my partner received a copy of the C7 acknowledgement from the respondent. She has also included an "additional info" sheet (nearly 2 sides of A4) ! This is basically a position statement.
We were of the understanding that this isn't necessary as yet as the info from both parties that is required by the judge will be requested at the directions hearing (later this month). With the c100 my partner just included a brief outline of the situation at section 7 ('why you are making this application').
This "additional information" has a fair few inaccuracies & exaggerations and also drags up things from 4+ years ago in an effort to try to paint my partner as a bad Dad. So should this be responded to before the first hearing i.e. Should he type up & post a response/statement to this?
On the one hand it makes for pretty infuriating reading as she is blatantly lying on some points i.e. she accuses him of changing contact dates on short notice (on the rare occasion contact has been changed he has always given her weeks of notice & reminders closer to the time) and has rearranged the contact to take place on another night the same week so no contact was missed, She has also said that when they first separated (8 years ago) she dropped the kids off to him for 2 years to encourage contact. This is an exaggeration, he passed his test 18 months after they separated and relied on his family for lifts for months prior to passing his test. She has said that he has always been invited to all school plays, sports days etc. Another exaggeration as he has been informed of a few but certainly not all in fact he the last time he was told as her partner wasn't attending a play he could have the spare ticket if he wishes! in the 4 1/2 years we've been together he's been informed of 1 sports day. Admittedly he has never been and asked the school direct as he has always known that he has no PR & thought that this would be needed 1st. She says that he is happy for him to have contact with the school so he is now considering getting in contact with them (is this a good idea?).
On the other hand it also seems that some of the points she's dragged up are completely irrelevant now and that the court will only be interested in the here and now. Would it be seen as petty to respond to these? He would like to be able to set matters straight on some of the issues raised but is unsure if it'll be seen as going [censored] for tat and that the directions hearing is there for the court/judge to request the info they want. However it seems unfair that she's managed to submit her statement and perhaps taint the judge's view before he's really had a chance to get his side across.
Any advice would be really appreciated.
Thank you.
Also just to add: She hasn't mentioned the genuine fact of why she stopped contact which was due to the CSA payments being reduced (by them after their mistake) although he has texts that actually say "Don't bother collecting the children unless you bring the money". All of the other issues were raised after he sent her letters requesting that contact be reinstated or he would be forced to commence legal action. She has also refused mediation.
JM, you have it exactly right when you say the points are irrelevant now. I would simply put in a sentence or two saying that you dispute the statements she has made in but in any case, they have no bearing on the matter in hand. Concentrate on the points that are relevant to the case now - that's what a court is interested in.
Hi Jayne
You have played things exactly right, if the Court want a Position Statement or Statement from you, they will ask or it, so basically she has let you know what she is going to say.
I would not file a statement now, however I would raise the fact at the first hearing that she has filed one without permission/Order of the Court and with the Court's permission, your partner would like to respond to her Statement by filing his own.
I would however keep a bullet point list handy of his replies to her Statement, in case he is asked in Court for any comments. And as actd says, a simple paragraph to the past events, it is what is relevant now.
Does she have a solicitor JM? If she does then they don't appear to know what they are doing! As EnyaM says they have revealed their hand too early! If she doesn't have a solicitor then she hasn't researched the court process and this may be her first mistake of many...I wouldn't stress too much about this turn of events....it's a good idea to have some responses ready in bullet point form just in case the judge refers to it.
The courts are very particular about sticking to procedure....a statement is requested by the judge when appropriate. He may ask you to respond in a statement by a certain date at the directions hearing.
As you mention in the last paragraph, you have the texts proving what is at the heart of her denial of contact. Transcribe them or get them photocopied and take them with you. It would be a good idea to have a file to keep the paperwork in....your copies of the forms, her statement and any other bits that are relevant.
Thanks for the replies 🙂
No she isn't using a solicitor NJ. Whilst this 'additional info' riled us both a bit we also thought that at least we know where we stand now and what she's going to throw this way. She' also asked the court to bear in mind that the eldest child is nearly 16 and will be taking his GCSEs in the coming year so will need to reduce contact time....the irritating thing with this is that my other half has been saying for the last few years to the eldest child that should he have plans with his friends/school etc that he doesn't have to feel obliged to stay over with us. The majority of the time he still does come over. My other half would never force him to stay with us if he'd prefer not to and appreciates that as a teenager he has other things he may want to do. One of the reasons that he's applied for the contact order for him at this age is due to times (for instance a few weeks ago) when he asked his son if he fancied going to the cinema, his son replied yes but he'd have to ask his mum 1st. The next day he text his dad to say his mum would prefer if they didn't! A lot of people say that at his age he'll make up his own mind but he still has to live with his mother and won't go against her wishes.
Is there a particular way to get text messages printed off does anyone know? My other half has copied & pasted them, then emailed them to himself, then put them on a word document with the times & dates. Is this ok?
Thanks again for everyone's input.
Re text messages..what phone is it?
I hav efound a program which lets me print off my iphon messages.
Regards,
Dave
That's great thanks. I didn't think to google it (heat's getting to my brain I think lol). We'll give it a go tomorrow 🙂
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