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Hi I am in need of some advice. I have spent lots of money over the years with solicitors regarding issues with my daughter's mother, as she is very irrational. At the moment I have little money to spend on solicitor fees. I have a parental responsibility order which I also have had to spend money on obtaining by taking her to court. My ex partner has recently dropped out of university in our home town after just being there a few months. Now she intends on moving to another town over 150 miles away with my daughter to do another university course. (Which for one I believe she only attends to receive single parent student moneys as well as pocketing maintenance money from me paid into her bank, resulting in her not working but having a brand new car).
My main concern is that over the years due to her thinking primarily of herself I have had to step in many of times to make sure that my daughter is getting looked after properly. Recently I attended her new school (which her mother moved her to while I was on a 2 week holiday, and said it was down to my daughter being bullied in her last school which I knew nothing about) to find out she had one of the worst attendance and punctuality rates throughout the entire school, since I have attended the school things have changed as I have been monitoring her attendance. Also (a few years ago) I found out that for some reason she would not take my daughter to a dentist after months of asking her to, so I registered her with a dentist to find out that due to her not seeing a dentist for so long, she needed to have 6 teeth removed. Now I have taken over with things to do with her teeth and there is a big difference her teeth are great. There have been lots and lots of instances like this in the past. I constantly have to check up to see if my daughter is being looked after suitably and it will be extremely difficult for me to do this if she is moved away. Her mother has agreed to let me continue contact with my daughter, but I am not happy with the whole move. I urgently need to know if I can do anything about this, as she is planning on changing my daughter’s primary school for the third time in less than two years which surely is not healthy. Sorry to go on so much but all I care about is my daughters health, education and well being.
Hi Jamal,
Your daughter is lucky to have a Dad like you mate - I will pass your query on to our Legal Partners at the childrens legal centre so they can comment.
Cheers
Gooner :ugeek:
As she is staying in this country, generally there is little you can do. You can apply to the court to try to prevent her moving, but if she has a good argument, then you are unlikely to succeed.
My best advice is to keep in close contact with your daughter (and see her as often as possible, despite the distance) and keep in touch with her school (it may be worth asking her current school if they would have a word with the new school to give you a 'reference' - the new school will want things to run as smoothly as possible, and if they know that keeping you informed will help that, then there is more incentive to consult with you, aside their legal responsibilities to do so as a result of your parental responsibility).
If, after a while, it looks as though your daughter is not being cared for properly by your ex - schooling, dentists, general health, etc, then contact social services as they can take steps to make sure that your daughter is being cared for - their initial actions will be to try to support your ex in looking after your daughter, and this will give you some peace of mind that she is being watched over.
Dear Jamal,
Thank you for contacting the Children’s Legal Centre.
Because your daughter is living with your ex partner and has done for a number of years she is established as the resident parent and this means that on a practical level she will be the one making the day to day decisions. The resident parent is able to move wherever they want within the UK and they do not need to obtain the non resident parent’s consent to do so.
If you feel strongly this is going to be detrimental to your daughter you can apply to court for a Prohibited Steps Order. This is a court order that forbids a person from doing something; in this case to forbid the mother from moving. The court will make their decisions based on what they feel is in the child’s best interests and will consider the welfare checklist, this will involve them looking at; the wishes and feelings of the child (depending on the age and maturity of the child), the child’s physical, emotional and educational needs, the child’s age, [censored] and other relevant characteristics, any harm which the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering and how capable each parent is of providing care. It is impossible to predict whether the court would grant the Prohibited Steps Order; the main reason for why a move is prevented by the court is where the resident parent is moving solely with the intention of preventing contact between the non resident parent and the child. The Prohibited Steps Order needs to be applied for before your ex partner and daughter move as once they have moved it is extremely unlikely that the court will reverse this.
If you are eligible for legal aid or willing to pay privately, a family solicitor would be able to make this application and represent you in court. You can check your eligibility for legal aid at www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk with the online calculator. Alternatively you can make the application yourself and represent yourself in court. The form you will need is the C100 and can be found at
www.hmcourts-service.co.uk . There are also two guidance forms to complete this which are the CB1 and the CB3 which can also be found at the above website. You will need to deliver or post these to the family proceedings court; this will be located in either the magistrates or county court and needs to be the court local to where your daughter lives. There will be a court fee payable of £175. The court will then set an initial court date and will explain the court process to you.
The only other option open to you is to have your daughter living with you. If the mother will agree to this the matter can be dealt with informally and there is no need to take the matter through the courts. It may perhaps be worthwhile attending mediation, this would be an opportunity to discuss your concerns with a neutral third party present. You can contact National Family Mediation on 0300 4000 636 or by visiting their website at www.nfm.org.uk ; they have offices all over the country so would be able to tell you where your nearest centre is.
If the mother is not open to discussions, another option open to you is to apply for a Residence Order. This is a court order that states who a child is to live with. Again, you can make this application through a solicitor or yourself. The procedure is the same as above, with the C100 form. However, it is important to note that the courts are reluctant to vary residency where it is established unless there is very good reason. Again, it is impossible to predict whether you would be granted residency.
We hope this information has been of use to you. If you have further questions please contact our child law advice line on 0808 0208 008.
Kind regards
The Children’s Legal Centre
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