Filed c100 - what next?!

hi, at some point court will send you letter in the post, with a date for a hearing. they would send to your ex also. courts are struggling with the volume of applications, so you may not hear anything for few weeks. and once they announce a date for your first court hearing, it will probably be in 3-4 months time.

As the above poster said. Your FHDRA might be listed 3-5 months after your date of submission. 

In the meantime I would focus on the following:

1. Drafting child arrangements that you would like going forward covering:

-Term time

-Summer holidays

-Half term

-Christmas & Easter

2. Considering whether your work will enable you to, going forward, drop off and collect your daughter from school/nursery.

3. Remaining calm. The court process is a marathon and not a sprint.

4. Avoid engaging in arguments with your ex that could result in her accusing you of domestic abuse. Keep all communication written and child focused.

Thanks for the (good) advice guys. Still haven't heard from the court though and been over a fortnight now.. am beginning to wonder if they lost my application. Wondering if I should give them a call in fact.

@dannyk another dad told me after he submitted c100, they got back to him 3 and a half weeks later. maybe give it couple more days.

Agree, the courts are very busy and it may take a while.  There may be a directions hearing first when the court decides how to proceed.  You'll get a communication from Cafcass at some point so they can do a report.  There is a guide to child arrangement orders on the advicenow.org.uk website which will guide you through the process.

Thanks again for the advice guys. It's been almost 3 weeks now since my online application and still not a peep. Not sure if they've been in touch with my ex or not..

She keeps saying she doesn't want to go to court (but she doesn't want me to have overnights either!), so have not revealed that I have sent the c100.

A month after my own MIAM, she finally had hers, and (out of the blue) our first joint appointment is next week.

So now I have a conundrum.. do I;

A) in the interests of full disclosure, let her (and the mediator) know that a c100 application is pending BUT I'm willing to convert it to a Consent Order and avoid courts (if I we can agree terms obviously)?

This could go either way, as she already knows I was issued the certificate (due to her resisting mediation initially). She could appreciate a carefully worded email letting her know about the c100.. OR she could go ballistic and completely cut off access to our daughter and cancel mediation.

B) say nothing? And deal with it as and when the courts write to her to let her know that I filed the c100 (perhaps once Mediation has already started). And THEN explain to her that it can always be converted into a Consent Order.

My fear is that either way, her revenge will be to cut off access entirely so what is the point of bringing this painful event forward..

I would appreciate any thoughts?!

hi,

would suggest at your joint appointment, you can ask ex is she willing to come to agreements, like overnight stays etc. can discuss all that. then can ask mediator to put all these agreements into a consent order. they can send off to court to approve it. 

but there is chance these discussions could fail and you end up going to court. maybe better to avoid telling your ex you submitted a c100 already.

@dannyk 

Court proceedings for child arrangement orders can be a roller coaster ride with lots of twists and turns. It can be a 5-11 month marathon so prepare yourself to be patient. 

No one can predict what your ex will do and how she will respond to proposals or allegations that you file during the proceedings.

If you aim to be constructive then I recommend being as polite as possible in communication with her and avoid inflaming the process with allegations that you can't support with evidence.

Hey All,

Has now been a month since I filed C100 Application online and still nothing from the courts. I emailed them for an update (out of desperation) last week and received this reply yesterday;

Your application has been before a judge who has directed that it should be given a ‘standard’ listing.

 A ‘standard’ listing would normally mean that once the application has been issued (i.e., paperwork processed) the parties would receive a hearing date within 6-8 weeks, however, we have a backlog of applications at present as a result of staff shortages.

 This means that your application has not yet been issued and is in a queue of applications waiting to be issued. We also, I’m afraid, have a shortage of judges and the consequence of this is that there is very little court time available. In short, though we aim to list within 6-8 weeks, this can no longer be guaranteed. However, please be assured that we shall issue your papers and provide you with a court date at the earliest opportunity.

So am I right in thinking that a process that would normally take 2 weeks (just to acknowledge the application and issue paperwork - let alone the CAFCASS, FHDRA, etc) could now take 6-8 weeks? I just don't know if I'm reading this right.

Haven't seen my daughter for a month now - she's two and half years old, so changing all the time.

Getting kinda desperate now and thinking about getting a solicitor? Could this help expedite the process? Or writing to my MP / attending a surgery and seeing if they can intervene? But am worried that could 'offend' the judicial staff dealing with my case..

Any advice would be welcome, as not sure what to do.

Thank you,

@dannyk hi the courts are struggling, too many applications and not enough judges. I don't think hiring a solicitor will make any difference. just a question of waiting for a court date. as they mentioned it could take 6-8 weeks, or possibly longer.

OK, just got an email from CAFCASS! So sounds like our papers are 'in the post'..

Does anyone know what happens next? Presumably we'll get a letter notifying both of us of a court date?

Am actually in the USA with work so will not get any physical post until I get back to UK on Sep 2nd, am hoping this doesn't mean I will miss anything time-sensitive / critical?!

Going to be interesting to see how my ex reacts. Hopefully she won't cut off access / abandon mediation in retaliation..