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Hi all,
I will be submitting an application for 'Parental Responsibility' and 'Contact' next week. My daughter is 4 months old now and I have been receiving regular contact. It started off me seeing my daughter at her mothers house. After a while (1 month), I was allowed to have my daughter over at my mums house for a few hours. I was happy with the amount of contact at this point.
Recently, we had agreed that I could have her overnight on the day I have her. This happened once and then I was then informed she was pregnant again. At this point, I asked for my daughters rights as I believe I had proven by now that I am a responsible person and that it would ensure that my daughter would have regular contact with all of her family members.
When she disagreed, I told her I do not want to argue, but if she takes that stance then I would have to take her to court. She reacted badly, told me I can't see my daughter anymore. A few days passed and I was informed that she was going to put my name on the birth certificate. A few more days had passed and she informed me that I am not going on the birth certificate, but she will not stop my access. However, I can no longer have her over night.
I am going to make an application to the courts. I would like our original agreement to be continued. I have her over night once on a weekend and when she gets a little bit older I can have her for a couple of hours 1 day through the week. Is it likely that the courts will work in my favor based on the fact that we already have a verbal agreement in place which was working?
Kind Regards
Hi and welcome.
A verbal agreement is hard to prove, but then it's also hard for her to prove otherwise. If you have any messages at all to back up what you have posted on here, then keep them, along with a diary of any conversations that take place in future - if it's verbal, then write it down, with time and date, as soon as you can (it's more accurate the sooner you do it). My own opinion is that what you are asking for is perfectly reasonable, especially since you've already had that level. Is there any chance this can be sorted out by mediation, though, before going to court?
Hi there 🙂
Demonstrating that all other avenues have been explored before asking the court to intervene is important, court must always be a last resort when all else has failed.
Actd mentions Mediation and this is the acknowledged first step in trying to find agreement with issues of contact. There are charges for this service but it can be very helpful in some cases, and if you are on benefits or a low income then you may be eligible for Legal Aid.
Heres a link to the Mediation service - www.nfm.org.uk
...and heres a link to the Legal Aid calculator that will tell you if you might be eligible - www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid
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