Guest viewing is limited

Courts really are on mother's side

Dadoftwo

New member
Member
Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum, and losing hope brought me here. I've read a lot of threads on here and I'm so close to giving up. I'd like to give a brief overview of my case and hopefully, I can get some advice, on whether there is hope or not.
My ex-wife and I separated in June 2020 based on adultery (found a guy in my bed), our life was in the midlands (I won't say where exactly just in case it reveals too much), and we agreed that I would have the children 5 days/4 nights a week (Wednesday till Sunday) so she could go and enjoy her life. I had no objection.
January 2021 she moved to her mum's house in London and I followed to be close, although couldn't afford a house in London so bought a house 30 miles away (45 minutes drive). Co-parenting was working until I met my partner and introduced my 2 children (X was 3yo and Y 2yo). The arrangement was still the same as the mother had no interest, but her behaviour was getting more difficult to deal with. X will start school in September 2022 as he will be 4, so I decided to make a CAO application in November 2021 so the children could attend a school where I live, bear in mind both children attend nursery here with me and not with their mother in London. My partner who now lives with me works at the school where both X and Y would attend in September.
In November 2021 X attended A&E because of a burn on his chest under the care of his mother, M gave 3 different versions of what happened, then goes on holiday in South America without my knowledge, she dropped the children off as usual then while abroad asking me to drop the children off to her parents, I knew she wasn't in the country because a friend told me, so I asked her if she was in the country, she wouldn't answer the question so I said that I wouldn't return the children until she was back. Long story short, I spoke to my solicitor and they said we could retain them and make an urgent application. I had already filed for a C100 form and C1A form, so we filed a C2 form. No answer from the court. M comes back and makes a cross-application with C1A form and C2 for urgent application, her application is accepted immediately and a hearing the next day in December 2021, she is at the hearing with a solicitor, a barrister, and a trainee barrister while she's hiding behind her camera because she alleges that she's a victim of domestic violence. The court made an order that the children shall live with the mother and contact with father 5 days/4 night (same as the previous arrangement), a penal notice is attached as the mother claims that I am taking the children abroad, and the passports were removed from my possession, surely if the children spent more time with me then the order should say children shall live with father and contact with mother?!? Anyways, because the children suffered harm under her care they ordered the Cafcass to do a safeguarding letter.

Fast forward a few months later the FHDRA hearing was set for 17th May 2022. In Feb 2022 I dropped the kids off, and her new boyfriend comes outside and tries to provoke me, I ignored him and went back to my car, he threw an object at me, missed then hits my car, my partner was in the car and heard it too. I called the police on my way home and explained what happened. The following week when it was her turn to drop the kids off, she appeared drunk and the children's clothes smelled of cannabis, children crying and screaming, and god knows what the mother/boyfriend had done to them. The children went to nursery the next day and said they weren't happy at their mum's house, I got this in writing. After the children settled down, they told me the boyfriend slapped them and pushed Y down the stairs, I noticed carpet burn at the back of his neck. I asked the mother what happened, once again she was abroad asking me to drop them off. Spoke to solicitors again, and I retained them as I had to protect them. We notified her solicitors and made an urgent court application, explaining that we retained them for their safety until a judge deems it safe. IT GETS WORSE!!

The mother comes outside my house with 10 people screaming for me to return the children, I called the police, and I explained to the police this is a civil matter and that the police should not try to take the children away and return them back to mother, I showed my court application asking for urgent hearing. The police asked her to go home and deal with the courts and solicitors. The following week, the same thing! she is outside my house trying to take down the fence near my front door, I called the police. She goes home and applied for a C79 application, the court give her a date in June 2022 which is 3 months away. The following week, during a video conversation with the children, she keeps telling them that the children are hers, she owns them, she gave birth to them, and she will come back again to remove them. I called 101 and told them about the threats. 2 Days later, the children, my partner and I were coming home after spending a lovely day with family, I was reversing into my driveway and my partner says wait, don't open the door, there's M's mother standing at the end of our road, as we were told by the police to call 999 immediately if we see them, we are on the phone to the police and they told us not to get out the car and drive away, we parked on a 1-way street away from our home while explaining the police what's going on, and all of a sudden we noticed my ex-wife's car parked right behind us very close and another car driving the opposite way of the 1-way street and block us from the front then another car from the left blocking us, they come out and start kicking the door, screaming, smashes my window, use a knife and attempted to smash Y's window at the back, the kids are screaming, all this while being on phone to the police, the police are telling us to find a way to get out of there and meet at the police station. There were 4-5 cars at the scene and over 18 people, she came with her whole family and friends. We met with the police and eventually, we came back to the scene where M and her boyfriend were still there, they both got arrested and held in custody and released on bail. My car was written off, they also keyed and kicked my partner's car too! When she's out she makes an urgent application and says I'm taking the children abroad.

At the hearing in March 2022, I explained what happened, she denied everything. The judge ordered that the kids are returned to the mother immediately and that I should have supervised contact with the children for 1 hour a week. She's on bail until 14th June 2022, there is a non-molestation order against her until 2023. The children have never suffered any harm under my care but have suffered many under hers, yet the court thinks it is the children's best interest to be with her? She works full time and I only work part-time to care for them. They have now been removed from the nursery and haven't attended since. They haven't been to their swimming and football lessons since. The children were undergoing mental support following the traumatic event and feared returning to their mother. Y had suffered injuries from the window they smashed and was so stressed that night we had to take him to the doctor.
Now the kids will be attending school in London and I find it hard to believe the judge will change things around. I'm losing that relationship with them. And following the FHDRA last week, my barrister managed to convince the judge to have an FFH, SECTION 7 report (after FFH), full police disclosure, full medical disclosure, and cannabis test on the mother, and PTR hearing 4 weeks before FFH, but unfortunately, nothing to change the children contact, they ordered my medical report because mother claims I have anger management issue and PTSD and everything in the world, luckily I knew she was going to make this allegation and already got a letter from my GP to confirm that I did not and do not suffer from any mental health, I do not smoke, I do not drink and I do not take any medication that could impact my mental health.

Clearly, I have been a good father to my children, been there for them, I was the primary carer, a victim of Domestic violence and abuse, and yet all this wasn't enough. I have spent over £18k on solicitors/barrister fees and now they estimated another £25k for all the 6-7 hearings remaining. Living without my 2 boys is extremely painful, I'm now suffering financially too, and it's putting a lot of pressure on my partner too. I just think maybe I should give up as I have tried everything.

Of course, this is just a brief story and there is a lot more to it. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
To quote Winston Churchill;

“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

“If you're going through hell, keep going.”

“Never, never, never give up.”


You come to a point though through all this destructive turmoil where you hit a mental brick wall. And this is where these overwhelming feelings of vanquish creep in. Like all battles you need to recuperate and regroup ready for the next phase.

Now sounds like a good time for you and your partner to disconnect from this for a bit and go do something that lets a little bit of fun and happiness back in if you can. This is important because you cannot let those people win.

You have to have faith that sanity will prevail. Three months to rejuvenate, and prepare for the next battle. You'll win in the end, by never giving an inch.
 
Hi. I have read everything and agree - don't give up. You have partly come face to face with a biased system that sees Mothers as resident parents. If I also look at it objectively you have had bad legal advice. Your solicitor told you to keep the kids. That was bad advice unless your solicitor also said - we will go for an urgent ex parte hearing tomorrow so you can keep the kids. Because without evidence from social services recommending the kids remain with you for safety reasons, and without that urgent temporary residency order, you are just viewed as an abductor. Bizarre isn't it. They assume the kids should be with the Mother so the Dad has abducted them. I couldn't quite follow which hearing and order happened first so need to read back more, but does she now have a residence order? (Before the first C100 application neither of you had "residence" and were both equal in law).

So here are some other bizarre things. Whatever your ex has done criminally she is not seen as a risk to the children by the family courts. That is a criminal matter being deal with elsewhere. Only if social services or police do an emergency protection order, can the kids legally stay with you pending a hearing.

Anyway - your current situation. It's clear you've been through hell and the financial aspects and ongoing legalities can be overwhelming and feel like a mountain too big to climb. But it isn't. You just take a few steps each day and rest in between.

Cost wise I assume those figures are if you use a solicitor and barrister? You can save costs by just using a direct access barrister for hearings and do the rest yourself - and get some help on here for various things along the way. Barristers are worth every penny. Solicitors, often, are not (as you've found - bad advice).

I had a situation once where I went to a solicitor for an urgent ex parte residency order considering my son was at immediate risk of harm (won't go into the details but from what he told me). I was told bluntly "you won't get it unless he is hospitalized". I was also shocked.

The biggest failings in the system are a blind belief that Mothers can do no wrong - over and above child safety. But sometimes you just need to know how the system works and how to present yourself.

Looking objectively, the court would not see any issue with the Mother going abroad and asking you to drop the kids off at her parents. When she has parental responsbility, or if it's in her court ordered time, she is allowed to leave them with whoever she wants - as you are on your time. It's a bit of a grey area when there are no court orders and she's out of the country perhaps.

So hearings. You've just had the FHDRA - because the Mother made allegations and no evidence can be seen at this stage, the court has to order supervised contact only for you in case the Mother's allegations are true (many Dads fall foul of false allegations and a Mother playing the system in that way) - until things have been investigated.

So while being in the middle of all this shit and trauma, looking at the process logically can help keep grounded - maybe.

Logically - supervised time with you until Cafcass have checked all welfare issues in case the Mother's allegations are true.

Next hearing will be a fact find. You definitely want a barrister for that. Your ex will write a list of her allegations and you have to write a list of responses. If you're also making allegations, think carefully what they are. The Mother going abroad on holiday isn't domestic abuse. The Mother and family attacking you is. But you have an NMO now? (OR is that in progress). The reason I say think carefully is because if Cafcass or the court think this is a very high conflict situation on BOTH sides (ie both parents making allegations) they can just decide to leave the kids with one parent and virtually no time with the other. To remove the children from what they perceive as conflict between parents affecting the children.

As you've already shown it most certainly has affected the children. Not your fault, she was the aggressor - but it's still seen as conflict between parents.

Sole "lives with" or "residency" for Dads is rare unless the Mother is dangerous to the kids or she actually agrees to it.

Have social services been involved? You've mentioned the police.

So you need barrister advice for the fact find - we can't give you legal advice on that aspect but general advice on here is - get the allegations against you dismissed at the fact find. Whether you make any allegations against her you'd need the barrister advice for.

The good news is - it might not be that long till a fact finding hearing and if her allegations are dismissed at that hearing, she can't make them again. It would normally then go to a final hearing with evidence. What is a PTR hearing? Your ex will try and cause delays - eg not do the cannabis test on time.

Have you applied for legal aid? Has your ex applied for legal aid? You're an abuse victim, so you're eligible - unless she has applied first as only one parent can get it.

Another thing that helps with the pain of not seeing your kids, and not wanting to give up is - how do you think the kids are feeling? They have had everything they know change - they need you in their lives still, not to just disappear. Even that one hour a week will help them for now.

So fight for them - but don't bankrupt yourself. I reckon if you used a direct access Barrister and it's 3 or 4 hearings you'd be looking at 15k for all of those for a decent barrister. You might find one that will give you a fixed fee for the whole case but usually they give a fixed fee for a half day or full day hearing and it's a separate fee for an initial consultation.

So what you need to do right now is - keep believing in yourself - know your kids need you - start organising your paperwork and evidence. Get a big lever arch file with coloured dividers. Start printing out any emails or screenshot and print out any texts, that could be evidence for anything to do with the situation - file them in separate sections - some for fact find evidence, some for final hearing evidence. Another section for any court papers or cafcass papers, another section for any police reports, another section for any other official letters or documents - that kind of thing. Include the thing in writing from nursery about what your kids said. Starting it now and building it up gradually, keeping organised, helps you be calm and focused for hearings and not scrabbling about at the last minute.

It will take over your life over this next year, but in between things you can still do and plan normal things - to keep sane.

Tips: Family court is not like normal life. You think you say something and people will believe you and see your point of view. They won't - it;s an adversarial system and they approve of a parent who says they want to co parent amicably. They disapprove of a parent who accuses the other parent (bad for the kids!). Unless it's the Mother then it's not seen as so bad! Or they just think - well kids need Mothers so not doing much about her behaviour - now how do we fix the co parenting? The only way to fix that is you showing you're the one who promotes good co parenting.

If there was legislation for 50/50 at the time of separation none of these horrific situations would occur. You'd automatically have "residency" and so would your ex. A more equal playing field.

Unfortunately they have listened to her. Her point of view is probably - I'm the Mother, I can do what I want, I trusted him to have the kids a lot and he took them away from me. (But I don't know your ex - maybe she is just a bad Mother).

The court and Cafcass see a presumption that children need both parents - unless there are serious welfare issues and the children are in danger or conflict between the parents is causing the children harm. Understanding that as a starting point will help negotiate the processes as you go along step by step.

It's a bit late so sorry I'm not being more concise right now - there is much more but you need to compartmentalise the emotions and get practical/hands on organised, then you feel more in control. You are their Dad, you have a right to be in their life regularly, they have a right to be in your lives regularly - how to achieve this? You achieve this by jumping through hoops and taking it one step at a time. Being whiter than white, presenting yourself calmly and respecfully and writing blindingly reasonable convincing position statements. You don't get emotional - that won't be seen as being human, they will just see you as being unstable! If you get angry you're labelled as dangerous. So it's a case of learning how to present yourself for court appearances and how to respond etc. Judges are human - they can warm to one parent or the other (especially at fact finding hearings).

If the cost is overwhelming then at least use a barrister for the fact find - get the allegations knocked on the head.

By the time you get to final hearing everything you've told us can be presented - the history of care, all the evidence - to get the best possible order. Because that is the goal - to get a good court order so you're involved in your kids lives. And can keep an eye on things. Once you have that you're in a better position, legally, in future, in case your kids ever have any serious issues again.
 
What did you actually apply for on your C100? For the kids to live with you? What you want is a 50/50 shared care order - lives with both parents. You might get kids living with you when all your evidence is seen but it's more likely they won't want to take residency away from the Mother - hence joint "lives with" (what used to be joint residency) is something to aim for.

If they are going to be at school in London and it's 30 miles away - how long is the journey? If it's less than 45 minutes each way you can still have midweek time. Another thing you might want to think about is - if one child is starting school in September, pre-empting your ex choosing a school too far away from you. You still have equal parental responsibility and education is an important part of that. Has the school place already been sorted?
 
I'm awfully sorry you have to go through this. Be strong. You are not alone. I make a small gesture and offer you some principles that help me in my darkest hours.

  • Fire tests gold, misfortune brave men
  • A good person dyes events with his own colour and turns whatever happens to his own benefit
  • Do not let things in the future disturb you, for you will come to them if need be carrying the same reason you now employ when dealing with things in the present
  • We are stronger in what we have exercised. It is by suffering ills that the mind learns defiance of suffering
  • Whenever you are offended at someone's lack of shame immediately ask yourself: 'So is it possible for there to be no shameless people in the world? It is not possible...Have the same thought ready for the rogue, the traitor, every sort of offender...Gentleness is given as the antidote to cruelty
 
Ash, I must have read your reply at least 3-to 4 times, and in all honesty, it has given me some hope. I'm glad to see that I am not the only one who thinks the system is biased, I couldn't stop thinking about where I was going wrong, but now I understand it doesn't matter, the system isn't on our side at all. A residency order was never mentioned up to now, not sure why it was never recommended.

To answer your question, the 1st hearing was an urgent hearing in December 2021 - The court order said 'Shall live with mother'. There is no residence order yet. All we had was a written agreement between myself and my ex-wife stating I have them 4 nights and her 3.

If I can be honest, I was hoping for CPS to charge her with the hope that she has a criminal conviction and the court would see that the kids shouldn't be with her, after reading your comment about it, I was disappointed, I'm sure if it was the other way around, I attacked her and found guilty, I would have been seen as a violent person.

Yes, I called social services a number of times, but the end result is always the same, the kids are clean and seem content - case closed. But more recently the social services have been visiting her and the children more often as the police got social services following the attack and the death threats she has sent me.

As of yesterday, I have disengaged with my solicitors, I have decided to represent myself as Litigant in person but following your advice, I will use a barrister for the fact-finding to get rid of all allegations. Then the remaining hearings on my own.

Ash, your example about "you won't get it unless he is hospitalized", is exactly what I have been thinking, how far does it need to get for me to get a residency order.

I note your comment about her going abroad, I was going to bring this up in court, but now I won't.

Cafcass has already done their checks and I am not known to the police nor I am a danger to the children.

I do have an NMO valid until 2023, but she is contesting it and also made a cross-application (she has no ground) purely retaliation.
if Cafcass or the court think this is a very high conflict situation on BOTH sides (ie both parents making allegations) they can just decide to leave the kids with one parent and virtually no time with the other. To remove the children from what they perceive as a conflict between parents affecting the children.
Well in this instance since I have done nothing wrong, surely they may decide for them to stay with me?

Social services are involved, I have kept a very good relationship with her, in fact, she called me after the hearing to see how I am and told me not to give up, she also said something she wasn't supposed to tell me but she said there is a chance she might be the one doing the section 7 report but to keep it between us 2 for now.

I haven't applied for legal aid, I assume mother already has, and also they often look at my salary pre-tax and assume I drive a Ferrari to work every morning, so I don;t think I will get any.

Another thing that helps with the pain of not seeing your kids, and not wanting to give up is - how do you think the kids are feeling? They have had everything they know change - they need you in their lives still, not to just disappear. Even that one hour a week will help them for now.
This has given me something to keep going , you're right.

They won't - it;s an adversarial system and they approve of a parent who says they want to co parent amicably. They disapprove of a parent who accuses the other parent (bad for the kids!). Unless it's the Mother then it's not seen as so bad!
That is exactly my point!! You hit the nail on the head.

I'm going to change my strategy, I will stop trying to make her look like a shit mother (although she is) and I will try to show that after everything she has done to me, I still want to co-parent and that I believe that the children still need her in their lives blah blah blah.

Overall brilliant advice, Thanks it's well appreciated.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ash
What did you actually apply for on your C100? For the kids to live with you? What you want is a 50/50 shared care order - lives with both parents. You might get kids living with you when all your evidence is seen but it's more likely they won't want to take residency away from the Mother - hence joint "lives with" (what used to be joint residency) is something to aim for.

If they are going to be at school in London and it's 30 miles away - how long is the journey? If it's less than 45 minutes each way you can still have midweek time. Another thing you might want to think about is - if one child is starting school in September, pre-empting your ex choosing a school too far away from you. You still have equal parental responsibility and education is an important part of that. Has the school place already been sorted?
C100 - Made a schooling application for the children to attend the school where I live.
In traffic, it can take up to 1 hour. I applied for schools where I live and she applied for a school where she lives (with her parents in London). I got an offer to an outstanding school + pre-school offer for the younger one. So my partner, X and Y all under 1 school. Partner is a primary school teacher.

How do I ensure that she chooses a school not too far? By the time the court proceedings are over, they'll already be going there.
 
Tricky. I was going to say urgent specific issues order re schooling. But need to think about the rest of the situation and hearings going on. So was your original C100 for specific issues over schooling? My experience is courts and Cafcass can be very supportive of Fathers - until they apply for residency then Cafcass gang up with the Mother! Section 7 could really help you and ultimately Cafcass will recommend what should be ordered. 99% of the time the court will order what Cafcass recommends. But it depends. It's Cafcass you want onside.
 
Tricky. I was going to say urgent specific issues order re schooling. But need to think about the rest of the situation and hearings going on. So was your original C100 for specific issues over schooling? My experience is courts and Cafcass can be very supportive of Fathers - until they apply for residency then Cafcass gang up with the Mother! Section 7 could really help you and ultimately Cafcass will recommend what should be ordered. 99% of the time the court will order what Cafcass recommends. But it depends. It's Cafcass you want onside.
Cafcass screwed me up big time. Despite no FFH, me not raising any safeguarding issues against the mother during our interview, the Cafcass officer treated mother's allegations as fact, recommended that there should be no overnight for the next 6 months and then moved slowly to overnights. The asshole also told me to attend a parenting course for abusive fathers.

He shot my 50/50 proposals to pieces.

However, the judge had none of that and ordered overnight contact to start immediately (progressively though) for both my son and daughter. So by October regular contact will have been established.
Holidays to be shared equally
I'm now going to a final hearing to get a 'Lives With' order and extra contact in addition to what has been agreed already (Friday to Monday on alternate weeks and every Wednesday overnight).

In the end I had to compromise, I could have demanded the 50/50 shared care which would require a full final hearing to cross examine Cafcass god knows when (the judge alluded to November/December) and a big legal bill to prepare for a full on battle.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Ash
Cafcass screwed me up big time. Despite no FFH, me not raising any safeguarding issues against the mother during our interview, the Cafcass officer treated mother's allegations as fact, recommended that there should be no overnight for the next 6 months and then moved slowly to overnights. The asshole also told me to attend a parenting course for abusive fathers.

He shot my 50/50 proposals to pieces.

However, the judge had none of that and ordered overnight contact to start immediately (progressively though) for both my son and daughter. So by October regular contact will have been established.
Holidays to be shared equally
I'm now going to a final hearing to get a 'Lives With' order and extra contact in addition to what has been agreed already (Friday to Monday on alternate weeks and every Wednesday overnight).

In the end I had to compromise, I could have demanded the 50/50 shared care which would require a full final hearing to cross examine Cafcass god knows when (the judge alluded to November/December) and a big legal bill to prepare for a full on battle.
Oh wow, so mother had made allegations and no FFH ? I can't believe Cafcass made recommendations based on allegations. We wanted a Section 7 asap but judged was against it, she said FFH first so the report is accurate and based and real facts and not just allegations.
 
Tricky. I was going to say urgent specific issues order re schooling. But need to think about the rest of the situation and hearings going on. So was your original C100 for specific issues over schooling? My experience is courts and Cafcass can be very supportive of Fathers - until they apply for residency then Cafcass gang up with the Mother! Section 7 could really help you and ultimately Cafcass will recommend what should be ordered. 99% of the time the court will order what Cafcass recommends. But it depends. It's Cafcass you want onside.
Yeah it was for a specific issue, schooling. Cafcass hasn't really been on my side in all fairness, the original cafcass interview she heard ex wife side first then called me after , she didn't care about what I had to say , conversation lasted 15 minutes.

I still want the children to live with me full time but I'm not even sure I have a shot at this anymore. I thought I had a strong case , especially now her and her boyfriend are involved with the police.

I know a dad who was moving abroad and managed to win live in order ?! While mother was still in the UK. How is that possible, what do I possibly need ?
 
Cafcass seem to always speak to the Mother first. I think they see any Dad who applies for sole "residency" as trying to steal the kids from a Mum - especially if they have a new partner. Things have improved in the last 12 years, but at one time a Stepmum was seen as a witch who wants to steal the Mother's children. Therefore if a man had a new partner ..........My partner had some horrible treatment from a couple of solicitors. Third solicitor was ok.

IME the only time a Dad gets residency is if the Mother is dangerous and social services say the children should be with the Father. Even then, they then "work with" the Mother and sometimes reverse that later. There are cases of "transfer of residency" in severe parental alienation cases, but those cases have often gone on for years before it gets to that stage.

I think social services have more clout than Cafcass. For example my ex had involved social services (who cleared me but found issues with my ex) - once Cafcass knew that they needed to contact social services to verify things. If social services have been involved, Cafcass will sometimes take a back seat and social services do the section 7 report.

If you think about it, it's better if it's 50/50 shared care so there is no "fight" over who has "residency". Then it's a case of working out a schedule that works.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Djc
Yeah it was for a specific issue, schooling. Cafcass hasn't really been on my side in all fairness, the original cafcass interview she heard ex wife side first then called me after , she didn't care about what I had to say , conversation lasted 15 minutes.

I still want the children to live with me full time but I'm not even sure I have a shot at this anymore. I thought I had a strong case , especially now her and her boyfriend are involved with the police.

I know a dad who was moving abroad and managed to win live in order ?! While mother was still in the UK. How is that possible, what do I possibly need ?
So what was the outcome of the specific issues for schooling? I guess they found for the Mother's choice? You should still have a say in which school they go to. Do you know which one your ex has opted for? For example it could be your side of her residence in London as opposed to a few miles the opposite direction of her residence. ie one choice would make midweek possible and another wouldn't.

I would think about this now as it could be tailored into the ongoing application and possibly even do another specific issues application now over which exact school the children go to, to allow adequate midweek time with both parents. It probably won't be heard before the ongoing case, but better than leaving it till it's too late in September. You'd need to research schools commutable for you, in her catchment area and find one better than the one she has opted for. She is bound to have accepted a place by now but it's not too late to change it.
 
Oh wow, so mother had made allegations and no FFH ? I can't believe Cafcass made recommendations based on allegations. We wanted a Section 7 asap but judged was against it, she said FFH first so the report is accurate and based and real facts and not just allegations.
It's a fucking tragedy. Now the judge ignored the recommendations made by Cafcass saved for the 50/50 shared care... The issue is that my ex lined up both the school and the Council's early help support against me.

Now, that is the correct way to proceed regarding section 7. Only the judge can determine if the allegations are true or not, and after that Cafcass will hopefully produce an accurate section 7 report.

In the family court, only one parent is allowed to behave indecently and that is not you....
 
Last edited:
Guys,

I have a bit of an issue, we were given FFH hearing (no date yet) I only just received the court order today, and it says I must file a Scott schedule by tomorrow 4pm to the court. I have no idea where to start, does anyone know or can help?
 
Hi there,

A Scotts schedule is basically a list of the allegations you have against the other party. The following link provides some advice and a template https://childlawadvice.org.uk/scott-schedule/

This video is also very good

You should focus on the most serious, recent events and the ones you have most evidence.
 
Guys,

I have a bit of an issue, we were given FFH hearing (no date yet) I only just received the court order today, and it says I must file a Scott schedule by tomorrow 4pm to the court. I have no idea where to start, does anyone know or can help?
Thank you for providing this, do I need to send the evidence and statements too tomorrow?
Given that you only received the order today, I'd write to the court asap and ask for an extension to submit the schedule. If your next hearing is two months away for example, you could ask for 4-6 weeks extension to give you enough time to prepare.

Now in relation to what you need to submit, this should have been included in the order, so I'd double check what's been ordered
 
Ok, so I read the court order and does say it needs evidence and a statement, I will write to the court for an extension. We don't have a hearing date as yet.
 
Back
Top