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Hi all, im a full time single dad to two young children 6 and 9, one boy one girl, i have had residency of my children for nearly two year after my ex subjected my children to harmful risks sexual, emotional and neglect. my children were on the child protection register due to a relationship with a person who served time in jail for attempting to abuse a 14 year old girl. she was given a supervision order that lasted one year that lapsed January 2013. since then we basically kept to the other contact order points, every second weekend and additional contact when possible.
My ex accused during the family court hearing her step father of sexually abusing her when she was young. since may another sister has came forward and accused him leading to his arrest in may( now bail pending a hearing). my ex was more then happy to allow him contact untill then. please excuse my promptness as i have little time to write this. now i am sure he is not having any contact with my children
i allow my ex to have the children Easter holiday and 3 weeks in the summer holiday i may also be allowing (assuming the present situation is maintained) October half term and Christmas
moving on i recently received some documents from her solicitors stating we will be going back to court 17th sept. i understand this is to arrange a contact order. this is were i need help and advice as i know she has legal aid cert from march so assume she is getting all her advice free and all solicitors advice free. i fear when i get to court, not being a very confident person their solicitors will have a field day with me. (as i assume due to government cut backs i will no longer receive legal aid or support. i have little money for solicitors ect
i dont quite see what she is hoping to achieve she has spoke about moving closer from 40 mile to about 5 mile and has suggested she would like to start picking children up from school. she also has a new boyfriend who lives were she is apparently moving to, perhaps she is moving in with him?! with her past boyfriend and step father it leads me to feel quite skeptical.
there is also an issue for transport as she has no car the order stated she was responsible for half the transport and with her mum and step father no longer talking to her she has little way of getting them to her. i have steadfast refused to fully under advice from mum and dad also other extended family. i have a few times in the past provided transport as she offered to pay petrol however i have never received any money
any ideas or advice? i feel quite nervous and fairly anxious i could post addition requested information if anyone feels they can help
thanks
I live in Leicestershire, UK
Hi there,
This is a stressful situation for you and your children. How are the children bearing up and are they happy to see their mother?
Did you go to court and get a Residence Order for the children at the time, or was it just agreed that they would live with you?
You say she has a Legal Aid certificate, what was she granted this for? It might be worth contacting the legal aid commission as strictly speaking she shouldn't be allowed legal aid for family law cases, unless there are domestic violence issues between you both.
You would want a risk assessment for any new partners in her life. What do Childrens Services say about this development, have you spoken to them?
When you were served the papers to attend court, have you returned the C7 acknowledgement ? If not you need to do this.
Sorry for all the questions, I just want to get an idea of your situation.
I think it might be advisable to attend at Families Need Fathers meeting, they have legal advisors and others that are experienced in family law... and its free.
I'll post some info on FNF, just need to dig it out!
the children have been seeing there mum unsupervised since the contact order ran out in January, with fairly normal behavioral problems
its a very long story she fought all the way, she messed up big after her and her ex split( the one with the convictions) she allowed her step father to take the children to a fair and that was the final straw for social services they then backed me up all the way though family court. social services told the court if they didnt agree to allow the children to live with me they would take them in to care and allow them to live with me
legal aid, her certificate is dated 28th march 2013, is that before the changes? it is for Substantive and level of service is full representation. the descriptions/scope states, To Be Represented as an applicant on an application for a contact order
no domestic violence
how do i go about a risk assessment of new partner? child services have been out the picture since i gained permanent residency.
i have a form C7 to return. though i feel unsure about getting a solicitor as i assume i will have to pay? im a pretty nervous person and am not sure about representing my self. am i still better to?
i will look into the family's need fathers meeting thanks for advice
...The changes to the LA entitlement came into effect on 1st April 2013 ...so it looks like she's covered. Does the certificate not have a time limit? A long shot but worth checking.
I think you should contact the social worker that dealt with the case and speak to them about this and ask about the possibility of another risk assessment . If there is a new risk to the children then they should act on this.
If you were to go to a solicitor you will have to pay and they charge lots! By the end of it you could have a bill for thousands....I know the children's safety is worth any amount of money but at the same time that money would be far better spent on them and not in the solicitors pocket. Obviously I dont know your financial situation and this is something that you must decide....
I understand that you are very anxious about this, there's no reason you can't fill the C7 in and return it. The FNF meetings have legal representatives and they may be able to offer you an alternative.... There is a meeting in Leicester but I would advise giving one of the guys mentioned a call... Wayne or Harvey. They will talk to you about the case and may meet with you beforehand, maybe even attend with you.
The first hearing will most likely be a directions hearing and because of the past history of the mother I would think the judge will ask for reports from the local authority and police. CAFCASS may contact you prior to the hearing to do a schedule 2 report and if they do you should tell them abut what happened and your concerns. If they are involved already you should receive some paperwork from them before the hearing. It's likely they will interview you by telephone.
We can ask the CCLC to come on an comment, but before that, as NannyJane suggested above, I think you should definitely (and urgently) contact the Social worker you have dealt with before as they will help you a lot, based on what they said - let us know how you get on.
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