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First Hearing - what to expect formalise current arrangements

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SB05

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Hello,

I have a court application going through at the moment, I just want to have the arrangement made of current contact arrangements of midweek contact, every other weekend & school holiday split. It goes well for a period and then out of nowhere mum pulls access because she is in a bad mood/no reason and refuses to attend mediation.

We have the first hearing at the start of May, what can I expect? I’m not sure how the mother can possibly oppose the application when it’s already working and my sons are happy with the arrangement, she never provided a c7 form to me so I don’t know what she has said.

I am self repping so any help on how to prepare for the first hearing would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone
 
You could do with a good position statement sending in just before the hearing. You can give the other party a copy on the morning of the hearing. Have you had the Cafcass letter yet?

FHDRA is to try and broker agreement between parents for a possible consent order. If that happens it goes no further. If you had representation, your lawyer would be trying to thrash out an agreement with the ex/her lawyer. If neither of you have lawyers, Cafcass might try. If there's any chance of agreement being reached for a consent order (ie it goes no further) then I'd take a draft order with you, with all the wording you want in an order as sometimes you think everything is agreed and then the order wording has loopholes and it's not worth the paper it's written on. (Happened to me).
 
Thank you for quick response Ash. Can I submit a position statement without their being a request for one?

Ok I will draft up a consent order, do you know if there is a template?

No CAFCAS letter yet but I’m not expecting anything on their unless ex surprises me with random accusations, fingers crossed.
 
Wait and see what the Cafcass letter says. Yes you can do a position statement for any hearing. It's an opportunity to say what you want to say/ask for things before the hearing so you don't need to say as much on the day. It's quite informal and some barristers just call it a "note" but it's like talking directly to the Judge. It needs to be fairly short (no more than 2 sides of A4) and double line spacing. It's not like a formal statement or "witness" statement that needs to be ordered. It just sets out "the position" since your application, any updates, anything else, and asking for what you want in an interim order if the matter isn't resolved at this hearing. (Eg for the existing arrangements to continue).

There isn't a template for a consent order as every situation is different and it's something lawyers do. Ideally you'd set out what you want and ask a lawyer to draw it up in legal language. However you can set out in detail what you'd like in an order, as part of the position statement maybe.
 
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