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hi, im needing some advice. ive recently seperated from my partner of 10 yrs, we have 4 children together biologically but i have raised and been a father to one of her other children since he was a couple of months old, he is now 10. she wont let me have visitation with any of the children and has told me that i wont be seeing the 10 yr old again either.. could you please advise me on whether or not there is a way that i can get contact with all of the children and how does the court work with regards to the situation with the 10 yr old, will i be granted access to him also . regards
Hi there and welcome 🙂
The way some women use their children as weapons makes me so angry 😡 Regardless of what has happened between the two of you, this shouldn't be visited upon the children. She isnt only hurting you by behaving in this spiteful way, she is hurting the children most of all.
I would imagine that you are Daddy to him in every way and she cant erase that just because you're not the biological father. There is a forum member here that is going through the court process now that is in the same position, and the courts have recognised him as the childs father, his boy is 3yrs old...you've been in your boys life for 10yrs and the biological aspect shouldnt matter so try not to worry about it too much. 🙂
You do have rights and the first step to getting contact is to go for Mediation. This is necessary before the court will hear your application. If the ex refuses to attend then you will be given a form FM1 which you will submit to court with the form C100 which is the form that you would use to apply for a Contact Order. There are two stickys at the top of the Legal Eagle Section, one is called "The C100 Contact Order" and the other is called "A Guide to Representing Yourself in Court". Solicitors fees can be in the thousands of pounds and a lot of Dads choose to self represent.
The Legal Aid system is about to change and on April 1st parents will no longer be entitled to Legal Aid for family law cases. As most Dads work it wont have as much impact on them, but mothers more often stay at home and get free legal assistance... this is all about to change.
Heres a link to the Mediation Service, there is a charge for using this service but financial assistance is available for the unemployed or people on a low income.
www.nfm.org.uk
- Samaritans – call 116 123
- Shout – text the word ‘Shout’ to 85258
