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I am trying to get the money together to go back to court to enforce the contact order, my solicitor is wanting £300 just to reopen the file so I was hoping to attempt to do some of this myself , I am wanting to write a letter informing my ex that she is in breech of the contact order (I also hold joint custody, don't know if this matters) and that I am now intending to take action to enforce the order.
the original order was made around 4 years ago and my ex has tried to withhold access once before, my solicitor wrote her a letter which explained that she was breaking the law and could be penalised and this worked at the time, I am hoping it may again but can't get my solicitor involved until I have the £300. I don't have a copy of the previous letter so I was hoping some kind soul would be able to help me with ideas of how to form this letter.
I can't just turn up at the house to take my daughter without arranging first because my ex has twice had me arrested claiming assault when she doesn't want me to have contact , police have never brought charges but obviously have to respond to the complaints, so when I do have contact I always ensure presence of a witness to prevent this again.
I do want to keep this as amicable as possible for the sake of my daughter.
Just write to her and say that you refer to the Court Order dated, and that she has refused you contact with (names of child/ren) on this that and the other date(s). Remind her that this is in breach of the Court Order .Suggest that you go to Mediation to discuss the issues with contact , failing which you are prepared to take the matter back to court to enforce the Court Order.
Mediation will be much cheaper than issuing in Court.
Send the letter by first class post, get a certificate of posting. Give her a two weeks to reply and if she does not, contact mediation yourself, and then apply to Court.
As far as Court fees are concerned if you are on a low income or benefits you may be entitled to exemption from Court fees which are determined by the Courts themselves and you could have a look at E160a available from www.justice.gov.uk, which will explain whether you can make a claim.
Hi There,
As said you can do this yourself and don't need the solicitor to write the letter for you.
The letter can be very simple don't over do it.
keep everything factual and don't get into thoughts or feelings, try something like......
Dear.............
I write in relation to the contact order put in place for (insert childs name) on (insert date) by (insert court/judge)
In this order it was written that (insert conditions of order as worded in the order), This contact order hasn't been met fully this includes (insert breaches in contact with as much fact as possible giving dates ect).
The court wrote this order to esure that (insert childs name) was able to have contact with me, and i with her. I would like to ask to follow the order as it is written so that (insert childs name) and I can enjoy our time together.
I would ask that you reply to this letter within 14 days and advise me if you have any issues in complying to the order or confirming that you will comply to the order fully.
If I have not heard from you with a reply within 14 days I will have to write to the court and ask them to hear the case for an inforcement order.
I would send recorded delivery so it has to be signed for so there is no argument that it wasn't recieved.
If you go back to court you can represent yourself so you don't need to waste money on solicitors.
If you want to write the letter and cut and paste it into a private message I will happily cast my eye over it for you.
GTTS
A friend helped with this..... do you think its a bit too much???? :dry:
Dear xxxxx
I am writing to you in relation to the contact order put in place with regard to xxxx on xxxx by Judge xxx of xxxx County Court. This contact order was produced in compliance with section 8 of The Children Act 1989 in which contact with both parents is expressed as an inherent right of the child and it is recognised that it is in the child’s best interests to maintain contact with both parents.
I find that in denying my agreed access to our daughter you are currently in breach of the contact order and its attached notice of warning must come into effect. I am therefore informing you of my intention to apply to the court for an enforcement of said order.
The Children and Adoption Act 2006 states that if a court is satisfied that a person has failed, without reasonable excuse to comply with the provisions of a contact order it may make an enforcement order imposing an unpaid work requirement on that person. It also remains open to the court to consider imposing a custodial sentence for any breach of a substantive contact order. As this is not the first instance of you been in contempt of the order I will be requesting that the court utilise their full power when imposing penalty in regard to breach of the order.
The 2006 Act also makes provision for the courts to require a person who has caused financial loss to another person as a result of breaching a contact order, to pay compensation up to the amount of the loss. With this in mind I also intend to ask that you are made liable by the court for all legal fees incurred as a result of the breach.
I would request that I receive any response to this correspondence within 14 days of the date stated on the letter explaining any legitimate issues in complying with the order or confirming your agreement to fully comply with the order. If I receive no reply within 14 days I will begin proceedings in the courts and request a hearing date for enforcement of the contact order. (please find a copy of the order enclosed)
Your letter is great. Just in paragraph 4 final sentence shorten to "I intend to make a claim for all costs in connection with this Application".
Hi there,
I think the letter is ok, but as you stated in your initial post that you want to keep it as amicable as possible, then the bit in the third paragraph where you refer to a courts powers to impose a custodial sentence, and that you will be asking the court to utilize their full powers in this regard might just finish off any chance of that being the case!
I agree with NJ,
Maybe remove that part and also change the part where you talk about your right to see your daughter to, your daughers right to see you.
GTTS
Hi there,
I think the letter is ok, but as you stated in your initial post that you want to keep it as amicable as possible, then the bit in the third paragraph where you refer to a courts powers to impose a custodial sentence, and that you will be asking the court to utilize their full powers in this regard might just finish off any chance of that being the case!
[censored] - there you go with that diplomacy again. I really need to work on mine 😀
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