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for four years i have been applying for my sons residency due to his mother negligence, i started with one day a week, to weekends, to four days a week. last week my sons mother upped sticks and moved to Wales, texting me claiming she wasnt returning...four days befor my sons 8th birthday... it was a big shock as its what i had been fighting for but i wanted her to fight for my son and at least see him on weekends, but she wants nothing more to do with him 🙁
I NEED to know what i should do legally so she dosnt just waltz back into my sons life and disrupt him further. I already have parental responsiblity and our social worker is on annual leave, can i apply for an interim residence order?..please help all advice is welcome...thankyou Marshall
Marshal,
If you aren't currently being represented by a solicitor, I think you should to speak to the Coram Children's Legal Centre immediately. They offer free impartial legal advice. There's a link to their website below.
If you have a solicitor, call them and explain the situation. In the interim I'll ask whether someone from FMI can pop along and give you some advice. Some of the other Dad's may also have advice. Keep checking back!
FM '70
thankyou for your advice,
I am just worried i will get my son into a routine for school and that his mum will come back expecting everything to be how it was! my son does need to have contact with her, she is stil his mum...i ithink she could have done this under much nicer crcumstances instead of via text and especially so close to his birthday.
When i dropped him off at school this morning he waas happy and himself and shouted 'see you after school dad' so he has accepted this change in circumstances...but to him for the time being his mummy is just on holiday.
It's a bit tricky - if you go for a residence order, there is just the chance that your ex will turn around and fight. If, however, you let things settle for a while, and then apply, the courts are going to be loathe to take him away from you as this would not be in the best interests of your son - and this is what I would be looking at doing.
You can't force your ex to have contact - that's up to her, and you can't apply for a contact order as you currently have residence. I think a lot of your efforts need to be directed towards supporting your son for the moment.
It's a sad situation. You can't really force her to have contact, so you must focus your efforts on your son and continue to put him first. Does your ex suffer from any emotional or mental health issues?
How long has social services been involved? Is there another social worker that you can speak to?
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