FROM THE FAMILY COURTS TO COUNTY COURT AND BEYOND

In the UK a divorced dad has to work his way through the family court and then show good cause as to why the case should be transferred to the county court. For the average divorced dad this could mean up to ten separate hearings at the family court.

The reason this is such a protracted affair is because mums and their solicitors have become adept at dragging things out. Involving CAFCASS, making up allegations that then need to be disproved, and agreeing to a court order at court – and then ignoring it. Whilst all this is going on your access to your children is limited – if not non-existent, and it is costing you time, money and causing a significant degree of stress.

It is no surprise that some divorced dads give up on their struggle to see their children, as they simply cannot afford carry on with the legal process. Of course, one way to reduce costs is to represent yourself, and this is a course that many divorced dads take. If you are not confident enough to represent yourself, then you can enlist the help of a Mckenzie Friend (see page 150).

Eventually, in the worst cases the case is transferred from the family court to a higher court. At this point, everything becomes more expensive – should there be a contested hearing your ex will probably use the services of a barrister, and you may have to do the same. By this time the CAFCASS reports are inches thick, and probably several in number. Most divorced dads have been to mediation a couple of times, and the court papers can be stacked feet high on a desk.

It is unlikely at this time that there is any substantive reason for the dad not being allowed to have access to his kids, as it would have been discovered by CAFCASS or the court prior to this time, and dealt with. So for most divorced dads arriving at county court there is no real reason why they should not be given the access they want to their children.

So if the problem is simply one of contact, then moving up to the county court normally provides the solution, as the judges are far more likely to impose an order on the mum. This is well known among solicitors, who finally advise their clients accordingly.

However, if your dispute is more complex than just contact –perhaps for example you are trying to get shared or sole residency of the kids – then if the matter is not settled in the county court, or the decision is subject to an appeal, your case can be taken right up to the House of Lords. In practice, very few divorced dads get this far, because they either get a settlement earlier, or run out of steam in their fight to get their rights.

It is also not in your ex-partner’s interest to take matters this far. However, her circumstances may be different – she may not be working, and so can get legal aid, costing her nothing. It may also be difficult for your ex to back down at this point. If she has been telling the court that you are Attila the Hun (even through the CAFCASS report has been telling the court that you are a decent bloke) she may have been telling the lie for so long that she has come to believe it herself.

So moving from the family court up to the county court is, for some divorced dads, a vital step in either getting some form of contact or another necessary step in getting some residency rights. The best course of action is, of course, not to have to go there at all but to seek a solution before incurring the costs and time that is involved with going through the courts – in other words mediation. But this is not always possible, so divorced dads have no option but to continue their personal struggle against the system.