[Solved] court contact order/visitation

i have just read another post saying it was £200 to raise an application for contact without a solicitor, does anyone else know from experience if there are more costs before the contact order is fully in place?and roughly how long the whole process takes until he can see his son again?thanks again

Hi There,

Your brother may be entitled to legal aid for the cost of solicitors to represent him, but He doesn't need to have one, and some solicitor will actually advise on how to go about obtaining a contact order only and won't represent (unless really pressed by the client to do so) the thought process behind this is that if you represent yourself throughout the court case then you are able to talk to the judge yourself and the judge can gauge your emotions and see things from your own view. Talking through a solicitor can be very stale in a court room and the judge doesn't get to gain first hand how you feel about things.

Applying for the contact order cost £200 and if he represents himself this is where the cost would end for court, however it is possible that the judge would ask that him and his ex attend mediation to try and resolve the issues without the courts intervention as they feel anything agreed to volentarily would be more likely to be stuck too. So there may be cost implications to the mediation but again he may be eligable for legal aid.

It may be worth him trying to attend mediation before he apply to court or at least asking his ex to attend as this would cover the possibility of the judge ruling it at the first hearing.

If he lives in England (not Scotland) and he doesn't have a solicitor we can ask the legal teams to comment on any questions you have about the legal side of contact.

Darren

Thank you 🙂 ive seen you replying to a few posts and was hoping you would come across mine as you seem to have a good idea of what your talking about! how do i ask the legal team?He has already gone through mediation and as it doesnt give him any concrete contact or anything she was back to calling the shots within a couple of weeks.I just think its disgraceful that dads can be treated in such an awful way. Surely one of the main objectives of being a parent is to put your childs needs and emotions before your own and act in a way that is beneficial to them.It is shocking that the dads have to pay the mother CSA and then pay legal fees to see the child(ren) but the mum has full custody for no expense. I know its not about the money but that is a big problem in alot of peoples lives and why should a parent be refused the rights just because they cannot afford it!sorry for ranting but it is the kids that are effected and missing out in the long run.so much for equal rights!thanks again

Hi There,

Don't be sorry for ranting it's what this site is about, it's here for advice or just letting off steam, I came here for similar issues as many of us have and have learnt through the site and my experience of court that this site is a great place for answers and support, hence why I stick around and help others.

Find out what questions he has and list them out, we can then email the legal guys with a link to the post to reply.

Mediation is good as long as both parties take it seriously and don't just go through the motions to tick the box, my ex agreed to all sorts of things in mediation, but then changed her mind within days of them being agredd to I know what that's like, however I would say that there is a chance the judge may ask them to attend again (as he did with me and my ex) as after time the courts feel mediation is worth re trying as things aren't so "raw" I shall niether confirm or deny if I agree with this thought proccess :whistle:

Darren

Hi there

I'm new to this site too and have found the guys on here so helpful and knowledgable...because they have experienced at first hand the problems our sons/brothers are going through, they can really empathise. The system is most definately biased towards the mother and I agree with you that it is so unfair!

Having already tried Mediaton, the next step would be an application to court for contact. It could be that your brother would be eligible for legal aid if he is on a low income. As there is this 12 week denial of contact hanging over your brother, he could ask for an interim contact order whilst waiting for his day in court...My son was granted interim contact whilst waiting for his application for Residency to be considered in court. Specifics relating to birthday and christmas contact can be asked for.

From what Darren says he will be asking the legal guys to come and give some advice... I think by that he means the CCLC. They have a freephone number and a website with webchat too.

0808 802008 ..... they are available Mon - Fri 8am - 8pm

www.childrenslegalcentre.com ...... available from Mon - Fri 9am - 6pm.

Hi

I am helping my son get contact . We have decided to go the legal route as after 3 years nothing has changed, one day he can see her the next no. with so many restrictions. Shes moved 100 miles away as well. We are taking her to court for defined contact which will include xmas, birthdays , over night and holidays . Its costing £200 and you will need to fill in a c100 and send it to the nearest court that deals with family matters to where the child lives.You can get the c100 over the internet , Ive been told this can take about 6/8 weeks for the first direction/hearing and who knows what will happen after that It sounds like from other posts it goes to caff cass for reports but you can get contact arranged at the first hearing till its sorted out finally . At the moment the mum has agreed to let my son see his daughter twice a month on a saturday but with restrictions, Im just hoping she does not change her mind as before as my son will be devastated. Is your brother on the birth certificate ?