Hello,
I would be really grateful for some help please.
I normally get my daughter for the second week of the Christmas, but this year my ex wife is only giving me a few days. We have no formal agreement in place.
What is the process for doing this? Do I try and sort it out with her first? Then mediation, then a court order?
I am really struggling with this and any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Kris
Hi, you've got the process completely correct - try talking to her (or writing - which I've always preferred as that is an evidence trail), if no joy, progress on to mediation, if still unresolved it will get signed off by the mediator and you can make an application for court. Given how close Christmas is, if talking to her doesn't work, the likelihood of resolving this via mediation before then is slim, so you may have to accept whatever your ex throws your way this year.
If you feel your ex is going to continually ignore your wishes and make changes without any form of negotiation to suit herself, then a formalised arrangement (court order) is definitely the way to go so that you all know where you stand in terms of schedules, and can plan accordingly.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate that.
I would agree that everything should be in writing - whether paper (with copy and proof of posting), email, text or whatever - you want evidence of the conversation just in case it goes to court in the future.
hi,
where do you stand when it comes to taking kids on holidays abroad? is there an arrangement in place? if not, thats something you should look into. i had that stuff put in my court order while kids aged 2 and 5. would be annoying if you get into a fight about passports etc.