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Hello
I would be really grateful for some help on this please. Parentline has just told me that my ex, as the resident parent (she has our son 5 nights a week, some weekends and most of the school holidays minus 2 weeks) would have the overall say in what she wants if it goes to court. I believed it was more about what was right for the child but the helpline advisor was adamant that the courts would favour what she wants. I have had the same contact arrangement since my son was 3 (he's now 8)and am gutted that i may lose time with him. I have tried mediation and just want to know if i am facing a losing battle.
Thanks for any help
Hi Manu and welcome 🙂
The person you spoke to needs some retraining in my opinion! As you quite rightly say, it is all about what is in the best interests of the child. The courts favour continuity and if you and your son are used to a certain level of contact, then the court is likely to uphold that and have it defined in the contact order.
If you have already tried to resolve contact issues through mediation and failed then the next step would be to apply to the court for defined contact. There are a couple of stickys at the top of the Legal Eagle section, the first is "Contact Order C100 Guide", this is the form you would need to fill in and submit to court and it costs £200. The other sticky which might be of interest is "A Guide to Representing yourself in Court". There are many Dads that for various reasons choose to self represent at court and this guide is very helpful.
Thank you so much. I thought she might be wrong and it annoys me that a national advice line can give out information that blatantly told me that as I am not the resident parent, my son's mother can dictate what she wants and the courts will go with that. The most important thing is that I do still have a chance in seeing my son as much as I always have...
Thank you again
- Samaritans – call 116 123
- Shout – text the word ‘Shout’ to 85258
