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Hi
I have joined and am posting as my husband has been battling (no word of a lie!) to see his little boy and it seems the law is not helping.
We had to go to court and a contact order was granted at the end of last year. My husband saw his son once at the contact centre and since then the mother has not made any contact with the court or her solicitor. She has missed 3 court appearances including one yesterday despite her being physically served the summons by a process server.
The order had a penal notice attached which is now being enforced and will be served to her by the court (thankfully that won't cost us anything). We have however been advised that the next step is a committal but that will not likely be until July after she has served her community service (or apologised to the court).
What I am asking is what else can my husband do? He has been reasonable and satisfied any concerns (which were unfounded and appeared to be her clutching at straws) the mother had and also agreed to having the first few sessions in a contact centre. Since last year she has not been in touch with anyone; my husband, court or solicitor and it seems like she is able to get away with just ignoring it.
We have had to pay the full cost of all the proceeding as not entitled to legal aid. We have a huge bill with the solicitor and my husband represented himself at the last hearing as we physically don't have any more moment. What I am worried about is I think we will definitely need representation at the next hearing but not sure we can afford it, although will make sure we can somehow.
How can she be allowed to get away with it? If my husband stopped paying CSA they would be straight on his back, but it seem ok for the mother to deny him access and not give any explanation or reason why (to which there are none).
Any help or suggestions would be very grateful. I am gobsmacked at how one sided the legal system is!!
Thanks in advance
It does seem one sided I know and ridiculously expensive just to get what is after all your husbands natural right just to be a Dad...
As there is a penal notice in force, the hope is that she will come to her senses and restart contact...If this hasnt happened by the next hearing and she is still in contempt of the Order then she could face a custodial sentence. Have you given any thought to applying for Residency....if she doesnt play ball and it gets to the point of a custodial sentence, it has been known for a judge to award custody to the non resident parent in this case your husband....very rare but something worth considering.
I think you are just going to have to be patient and wait for things to take their course... and hope for the best. If your husband decides to self represent there are plenty of members here that can give advice and support.
Best of luck to you both 🙂
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