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Hi

I posted earlier regarding GBH, but this is now about our next move.

My wifes ex partner has decided after 6 years he wants access to his daughter, we are not happy with this but have gone along with the courts. We did not attended the last directional hearing as my wife was ill. We do not have a lawyer either as we cannot afford the fees. Legal aid is out of the question as we earn too much to qualifiy,but only just.

Anyway the ex had a previous contact order in place which was broke, he say because i attacked him, see GBH topic.Anyway in the judges direction hearing in October he requested a Cafcass officer attended our house and present a oral report on my wife. This is to be presented on the the 16/12.
The officer has said it is doubtfull a direct contact order would be given but contact by letter may be the way forward.She hasnt said that this would be her recomendation, but strongly hinted.She did say the judge may choose to ignore the report completely. Is this likely? i always thought the courts take alot of notice of cafcass

She has said we should attend court, but my wife is really worried about facing her ex s he was abusive while married.The courts have said we can have a side room and would not have to meet up with the ex, as the clerk will present any statements to the Judge if required.

The ex has a lawyer, he is working away, not stating his earnings and claiming legal aid. (on another note, he hasnt paid CSA money for several months, owes £6-7000 back pay and is currenly being chased by the csa, he pays £5.00 a month for 4 months then it stops when he goes to work abroad)

can anyonme tell me the possible course his lawyer may take, and what we should prepare ourselfs for.The cafcass officer advised us to get a lawyer as we would be at a disadvanage.Any help would be appreciated, its not easy doing this alone.

thanks

Split out entirely issues of maintenance and contact.

the CSA will pursue the arrears. You face only the contact.

Contact is a question for the child - what will be in that child's best interests. The court will feel that it is in those interest to maintain a relationship with the father. I have to say Ihat i agree with this approach.

That said, it is for the father to persuade the court that he is prepared to do it properly and in a way which will avoid causing any further damage. That means that he shows some commitment and reliability.

CAFCASS are certainly influential, but you should not rely on them alone. A lawyer should be able to assist.

We cannot afford a lawyer.

Honestly,we do not want contact, nor does our daughter, but we are realisist and know he is her biological father and she has a right to know her "roots" We will show willing and encouragement to our daughter,without influence, as best we can

We would prefer the letters and photos route,as a start, i cannot believe a direct contact order can be in the best interest of a child who hasnt seen her real father since 4, she is now nearly 11.Which i beleive is the root the CAFCASS officer will make.


Incidently, we asked the officer what action would be taken against my wife if a direct order was given and our daughter refused to go, she said that it would be unlikely any action would be taken, as they would never force a child to go.

You are correct the CSA thing is completely seperate, just worth a mention, as this all kicked off once the CSA got involved with chasing him.

As we are doing this ourselves, do we have a right to see all the court papers retaining to this case, as we have seen nowhere the accusations of assult, as describe by the CAFCASS officer,so i assume we do not have all the papers

can anyone please tell me what course his lawyer may take if the judges follows the cafcass officer report for letters only?(if that is what the report says)

Also how do i get all the courts papers i need?

thank you

Your wife is the party to the action? She gets the papers.

yes she is,,but the part in the papers that state his reasons for not keeping up contact is not there, the cafcass officer had a copy and looked through ours and told us they were missing

I'm going to stick my neck out here and say the family court today do listen to minors of a certain age. In the old days a minors voice would only be heard at 16 and above. Today its different and I have known cases of 11 year olds getting there way.

CAFCASS should be able to pick up on this during their visits. Sadly I find not alot of their officiers use this but stick to the old ways of the child not being old enough. This is why we hear alot of the CAFCASS reports being ignored as a judge like to hear the young voice themselves. How they get to hear the young voice I'm not too sure but it does happen.

I think you must be very old. I think that as long as I practised law, the courts have been ready to listen to children. The test is not the actual age, but the issue, and their particular qualities.

Since time immemorial, where there is a perception that the child's interests are to any extent in conflict the court can consider a guardian ad litem to represent that child's interests directly.

It is not always welcomed because it can lead to parents coaching the child to say what is wanted.

Just wondering if anyone can offer a little advice further to this topic.

My wife wrote to the courts explaining she was worried about facing her ex husband in the courts at an up and coming hearing.

She wrote and asked them if it was possible to have a side room provided so that she did not need to come face to face with the ex. The courts have told us they have sent a letter but will not confirm its content over the phone. I know we need to wait for the letter, but can i just ask

What do you think the chances are the room will be given?

If it is refused, can she appeal?

The cafcas officer who visited her noted that she was extremely worried and scared of her ex.

thanks for any help

help desperately needed please.

Heard back from courts that a private room will be made available to my wife and i. However the judge has said there is not enough evidence to provide us with a video link. We never asked for this, we asked if it was possible to give evidence to the judge away from my wifes ex husband as she is absolutly scared stiff of facing him. We know video link is the same principal.

We are reapplying giving reasons why we want video link, but my wife has said she will go along to the court,private room but refuses to be in the same room as her ex.

is there anything else we can do,what could be the problems if she does not go,apart from contempt of court.

We cannot afford legal help, my idea was i would be a mckenzie friend, but this maynot be allowed

thanks

A mackenzie friend only sits by the side of the litigant and helps the litigant who does the advocacy. It does not include speaking for the litigant. it would not solve the problem you have.

The court will properly ask of what is she afraid. What does she fear he will do in the courtroom or outside?

Thank you for getting back.

She fears being intimated by him, and not being able to give her side of her story due to this.She shakes at even the thought of seeing him. She was physically and verbally abused through out her marrage, but as with a lot of woman like this, no reports were ever made to the police, so we do not have the evidence to support this if it was asked for.

She is 100% sure she will attend the court, sit in the private room,but is 100% sure she will not be able to enter the same room as him.

I wanted to enter the court room with her as her mckenzine friend, not to speak on her behalf but give support, but when i spoke to the court offical this morning, and in turn her to her supervisor, we were told it would be unlikely to be allowed as i am her husband, it would be put to the judge, who in turn would ask the other party if they had a problem with it,which they will have, and be rejected.

hi need a little more help please

We received a letter from the courts saying the request for a video link has been accepted and the court time hearing has been brought forward to an early time to allow this to happen.

My wife called the courts to find out the arrangements for attending, how we get there and how where to go etc. She was told that new correspondce have been recieved regarding the video link from her ex husbands lawyer this morning by a phone call and needs to go back to the district judge.

We assume he will be denying all the allagations my wife made in her letter for reasons for wanting the link, but they refused to tell her what the new correspondence were. She told them as she had no lawyer and representing herself she had the right to know, again they refuse.

My question is, have you any ideas as to what the correspondence could be with regards the video link, if he is denying the alligations made, surely the judge has to stick with his orginal findings as both sides could be lying. Or could it be as simple as the change of time of the hearing not being suitable.
If the link is denied my wife wants to appeal again, but the hearing is due on Wednesday.

Any advice or insite would be really helpfull

The decision appears to have been made. Representations would appear only to support the need for the arrangement.

You are not that much in control. You are not a party.

thanks DLS

My wife is a party to the proceedings surely, as it involves her, her daughter and the ex husband. So surely she be party to all evidence.

If you think it wont be to argue against the live feeds, as you say this has already been agreed, then for other reason could it be? Possibly the change of time?