Archive for the ‘Children’ Category

I found a website today offering advice on the legal implications of having access to your children after a divorce when the mother refuses to give contact.

The website quotes:

Generally speaking, a court will consider contact with both parents to be in the interests of the child and it is very unusual for, say, a non-custodial parent to be denied contact with the child. There would have to be quite unusual circumstances for such an order to be made.

While this maybe true in principle, I find it isn’t true in practise. It has been my experience, not just with myself but with others I have spoken to as well, that the father does not actually have any legal rights whatsoever. Yes the court can say that he is allowed contact, yes they can instruct a care worker to liaise between both parents, but in reality the mother is under no obligation at all to make the children available for contact with the father.

It sounds wrong, of course it does. Sadly though it is true.

I will email David Terry at terry.co.uk to see what he advises as well, seeing as he offers advice and info via email. Maybe he can shed some more light on the situation.

Personally I hope so, but I doubt any solution would be forthcoming… at least not one that didn’t involve several thousand pounds and another legal battle only for nothing to come of it in the end.

I will of course post my findings here.

Clive Bellmore

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In a word, yes. A father has a legal right to know where is children are living if the mother has left the former matrimonial home. However, getting this information isn’t easy and you will need to go through the family court in order to attain it.

If the mother chooses she could refuse to provide this information on various grounds, such as she fears for her safety or she fears for the children’s safety, though she will eventually have to show evidence for those fears.

Sit tight though, keep your cool and don’t get stressed. Eventually you will find out where your children are living because it is your legal right.

Clive Bellmore

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The valiant battlers against injustice, Fathers 4 Justice (who I blogged about last week) have loads of videos on YouTube showing their daring stunts and antics. These guys are the best, and definitely worthy of support.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWW7wQPVm7I]

Search YouTube for more of their videos.

Clive Bellmore

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The Fathers’ support group Fathers for Justice was set up in 2002 by Matt O’Conner with a view to changing UK law to allow children to have equal and fair access to both their parents. The group have managed to raise a massive amount of exposure with some extremely high profile stunts, including scaling Buckingham Palace dressed as Batman.

The website for the group, www.fathers-4-justice.org offers advice in the form of a private members forum, for which you pay a subscription of £30 per year.

If you’re having difficulty seeing your children I’d strongly advise you to join F4J and gain the advice of other fathers in your position. As they advertise on their website, it’s much cheaper than a single consultation with a solicitor and far more useful.

Clive Bellmore

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