Timescale for court

[FFC1987]

Mediation between me and my ex has failed, she is now trying to stall me taking her to court, I haven’t seen my boy since Xmas, she told me the court process will take 40 weeks and cost thousands. What are people’s actual experiences and has anyone gone through court recently as wondering what impact COVID has been having on timescales?

[Debwarr1981]

I have spoken to a solicitor about this and they advised that it could take about six months to get a court hearing due to COVID…… obviously this would depend on where you live. My advice- fight for your son- start court proceedings- it would prob cost a couple of thousand but unless there are any safeguarding issues the court will likely give you up to 50% custody/ access so it will be worth it. Plus- if she sees a letter from the solicitor she may realise and do the right thing- good luck x

[backontheshelf]

Hi total time for child arrangements order from initial filing of forms to judgement was just short of a year pre covid19. About 6-8 weeks from initial filing was first hearing. Then had some judge mediation and sent on ‘parenting course’ (most get sent on this) before final hearing before completely different judge 10 months after filing. Cost around £10-15k.

[Family Time]

1. Iam so sorry to hear you are having this trouble , I have the opposite affect IV begged my estranged husband to see our girls , he has moved in with his gf and her three kids now and won’t have anything to do with our girls who are 5 and 6 I’m heart broken , keep fighting for your children it’s not right they have been denied contact with you , wish you all the best of luck .

[picklepie24]

I recently took my ex husband to court to agree a child arrangement order and it cost me £245 to file it online myself and we had a cafcass phone interview and court date within a few weeks (luckily mine went through in early March), obviously in the current situation it would take longer but we were in court about an hour.  I didn’t use a solicitor my solicitor said to save money and do it myself and see her if i needed any help,  i tried mediation but he refused to attend so the mediator gave me a reference number to put on the form.  If after the first hearing there is no agreement it goes to a second hearing and if still no agreement the judge decides at the third.

[Elcee]

We have had to apply for a contact order due to contact being changed or stopped whenever my partners ex decides she’s not happy with something.

We have invited her to mediation twice (unless donestic abuse or fear for child safety is a factor you need to try mediation) and she has refused. She won’t communicate, just sends demands which are final and if we don’t agree, she pulls contact.

You need to pay £50 for a MIAM  from the mediator and then £215 to court. You don’t need a solicitor, just tell the court why communication has broken down, what you would like to happen and judge will make sensible decision. They are not interested in he said she said or one parent punishing the other. Be honest and reasonable and should be ok. Initial court date approx 6 weeks ( we rang our court who told us timings have not been effected by covid, but that’s just ours) can take up to a year if further court dates are needed.

[Bluepanda]

FFC1987, I am sorry to hear you haven’t seen your son for so long.
Unlike what most people think (l did too at first), it doesn’t have to cost thousands of pounds. 1) You can get your own application online (gov.uk) and fill in with a statement (what you basically want from the court, and some back story with dates etc). 2) You can also get 1 question answered by a lawyer online JUSTANSWER website was super helpful for me, you need to be concise and straight to the point (£7 to £47 depends, just make sure you cancel your membership after or they will take £29/month).
3) On the court day, you can bring someone along for emotional support (called “McKenzie friend”) a friend, relative etc. They will sit next to you and write or whisper to you things you may need to say as well.
You have the legal right to see your son and your ex may be “alienating” her son which is condemned by judges!
best wishes.

[FFC1987]

Update, we are back in court in April, she decided to say despite having been coercively controlling me for years to the extent I basically had no friends and lost multiple jobs due to the need to keep her happy that I was abusing her. I am having to do a caring dads program and may still be months from non supervised access. In the meantime she has (99.999% sure) made a referral to the NSPCC that my new partner’s children are scared of me (rubbished by the school but upset them massively) and gets away with it all. How can I been seen as the only problem, I’m no saint but I worry more now then ever about the future mental health of my son.

[Dee]

Going through the court process now, don’t trust the solicitors, yes it can cost thousands, but it also doesn’t have too if your willing to jump through hoops and put in pain staking work yourself to see your child and I know every father in this situation will go to the ends of the earth to see there child! The times scales are not 40weeks but a few weeks the whole process will take about 6months, and be ready for false accusations through and prepare and document everything as father’s you need to prove at ever stage.

If anyone needs guidance on court processes please feel free to pm me

[Author]

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