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Thanks for checking out my first post.
I'm going through a messy divorce (wife told me she wanted a divorce on Christmas day, my supposed unreasonable behaviour, it since transpired she was having an affair, she took my daughter to live with him (30 miles away) in March and is already pregnant with his child).
Anyway, it's safe to say we've come a long way in a short space of time. She rushed me into court to try get custody, but no order was made in that respect. The judge didn't enforce mediation even though I wanted it as I would have liked a neutral to hear some of the things I've had to suffer.
What I'd like to know is whether a Consent Order is the same thing as a Defined Contact Order?
I came out of court with two photocopied sheets of A4, signed by all parties and the judge, containing details of the contact I will have with my daughter going forward. My solicitor managed to get my monthly hours of contact reduced by a full 24 hours compared to what I had previously been getting! To say that I am not very happy about this is an understatement, but my solicitor hasn't returned my call or replied to an email I sent. I have received a bill for his time today though!
I'm not sure where to go from here, but realise that I need to let the dust settle and recharge my batteries before I take my next steps.
Any advice would be really appreciated.
Thanks
Hi and welcome.
As I understand it, a consent order is simply where the parties have come to an agreement beforehand, and then the court puts that into an order, so it is still a court order. A defined contact order is one that is imposed by the court stating the times and/or places of contact and any other restrictions.
Unfortunately, as you currently have a solicitor, we can't ask the CCLC to comment. You could consider representing yourself instead of using a solicitor from now on (read yoji's guide to representing yourself at the top of the legal section) which will save a lot of additional costs, if you aren't happy with your solicitor represeting you, and as the case has started, I don't think you will have anything additional to pay.
Thanks for your response.
I will definitely read yoji's guide to self-representation and I have just bought the Divorced Dad's Handbook for reference.
My current solicitor still seems to be ignoring me as it is two weeks now since I called and emailed them.
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