applying to court for contact

[smiler01]

Hi

my partner is applying to court and will be self representing. i wondered if someone could give some advice on the following?

without going in to lots of details, my partners ex accused him of domestic violence, totally untrue (am 100% sure of this, lots and lots of info i could provide but its very long) it did go to court and he was found not guilty, magistrate did say it was a verbal arguement started by her and inconsistancies in her evidence) he was given a restraining order to prevent any future issues. the police also gave his ex a harrasement warning prior to the domestic violence accusations as she was basically stalking him, had over 100 calls in 24 hours, continous texts and she would wait about to see where he was and start arguing with him with her sister. despite him being found not guilty at court his ex really used this to say he could only see kids at a supported contact centre then pulled out last minute hence having to go to court.

When he completes the c100 form, is there any other forms he can submit to bring to the attention of the courts that he was accused and found not guilty etc as when she responds she will no doubt use this and other lies in her response. she also accused him of being a drug abuser, as soon as she said this via solicitors he went to gp to have a blood test to prove nothing in his system. (i have a 6 year old dd and wouldnt let someone like that anywhere near her)

We would like to just ensure when applying we cover as much as we can!!

Any advice would be great!!

Thanks

Any

[Gonzo33]

I expect someone will be along in a minute to give you the proper legal advice on this, but I would imagine (and I am NOT a solicitor, but using my experience) that this would all be brought up in the initial hearing.

My initial hearing consisted of going to court, having a meeting with Cafcass and my exh to see if we could resolve amicably and then into the court to lay out what was wanted and the recommendations of Cafcass. My case was slightly different though, I was requesting leave of jurisdiction at the same time.

Good luck with it, it is not as scarey as it seems!

[STIDW]

In the application he just needs to state contact has broken down and the order he is applying for (contact or shared residence). It isn't necessary at the first hearing but some self reppers submit a position statement to court as reference to help them remained focused on the issues.

Before going in front of a judge it is usual for both parties to meet with CAFCASS to see if any agreement can be reached. When no agreement is reached the judge will determine what is required to assist the court make a decision and sets a ti­meta­ble for future hearings.

If there are allegations of DV the court may carry out a finding of fact exercise later on and it is independent professional evidence such as CRB checks and reports from schools, social workers and police of incidents and the effects of the DV, in particular on the children, that carries the most weight rather than evidence from friends and family.

[smiler01]

Thank you very much for your replies. Its just a little scary to think that she can complete forms in her response continuing with the ridiculous claims of DV which really are so un true yet there isnt a space on the C100 form or additional forms to send with his claim to bring to the courts attention that the reason for no contact is because she is using the kids as a weapon and making up lies (obviously i know your cant word it like that lol) there should be a back ground section to give any relevant info u think is important to the initial claim!!!

[cestlavielife]

for any hearing he can give his statement to the court - he should ask court clerks or unit at court which helps those self repping on format to use. (statement of xxx in the case of xxxx etc)

his statement can say bullet point by bullet point what his points of view are and he can refute any allegations in his statement.

my exP usually delivered these statement on the day of the hearing.... he can also take along any evidence

[smiler01]

Thank you for replying!

Since monday ive been looking in to the position statement and think it will be beneficial for dp to complete,

you say your exP delivered the statements on the day of the hearing, i understood that they needed to be sent to respondent/their solicitor prior to the hearing as they are evidence and they needed to see them. so if we was to file the statement day before hearing this would be ok?

Ideally we wouldnt want his ex to see it because of the type of person she is she would just use the bullet points and find "reasons" to justify stopping contact etc. When you say evidence, what do you mean like texts where she agreeded contact or for example text's saying she would do everything in her power to never let him see the kids

Thanks again :)

[cestlavielife]

yes all those texts - but beware of what texts did he send back ? was it all one way? has he been super reasonable or did he rise to the bait?


my ex filed things on day because he did - but of course better to file before.
and of course she wil see his position - it is better all know the position so each can provide their own evidence before going into court - you dont want stuff handed out at last minute as judge will only send you away to come back later. or if she suddenbly brings up soemthing in the eharing that ahs never been mentioend before -then again judge might say "look go away for an hour or two and try and reach some agreement" then come back.

and if she is going to refute she will. just be prepared for whatever she can throw back. with "it is in the childrens best interests that xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

if you know the arguments she might use then pre empt that in the position statement