Brief background as I don't want to be too identifiable!
I have received a letter from the exes solicitor about contact for our DC. It is a different firm than he has previously used. They presumably have no knowledge of previous solicitors contact between us and are going by what he has told them. I left the ex several years ago due to abuse, taking the DC with me. He has seen them a handful of times since then, always supervised access in a public place for our protection. He has phone contact with them most weeks, he only has a mobile number for me again for protection. The DC are now of an age where they are more able to make their own decision about having contact with him so I go with their wishes. Until they were old enough to decide for themselves, i have maintained contact and offered far more than was taken up. There is no formal court agreement in place for contact and the ex doesn't have PR.
The letter I received this morning requests mutual negotiation for contact and says if this fails or is refused, court proceedings will be started and that I have 14 days to reply. Now I am not especially concerned about the letter, as it is very similar to ones i have had in the past which have always been resolved swiftly when replied to by my own solicitor with a statement of facts. I assume that is why the exes letters come from a different solicitor each time, but I don't recall any past letters going straight for the threat of my being taken to court unless the (numerous) demands in the letter are met so I wondered if there has been a change in standard practise, if there has been some recent change in contact law that I am unaware of or if this particular solicitor is just a bit heavy handed and goes for the scare tactics?
It isn't convenient for me to dash off to the solicitors again just now, so I am also wondering if this is just something I can ignore until I can give it my full attention or if there will be legal implications if I don't respond within the set time frame?
Any help, advice or wake up calls gratefully accepted.
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Are threats of court standard in solicitors letters?
3 replies
NCtoProtectTheInnocent · 12/05/2011 13:18
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