WA Dealing with AVO and Visitation Rights While Overseas?

[Mark Tee Kay]

Hi all

I am happy to have found these forums as I am really in need of some help. For many years, my ex and I did not get along well. She always told me she didn't love me anymore, etc and we lived in different rooms at stages but stayed together for the sake of our two primary school aged children. I needed to travel overseas for work, found a new partner and she found out, stated she wasn't angry, etc., as we haven't been intimate in a long time but what followed was certainly the moves of a jealous ex.

In the past, I had a few issues with drugs and alcohol also. It got bad at some points. I was in a high-stress job and offset the stress like that, recently less though. I can provide clean urine now if required.

Then one morning we are in a verbal yelling match (nothing more) and she calls the cops has an AVO served on me. It was obvious this had been prepared in court the day prior by the dates and I'm kicked out of my house, can't see my children (although the cops said the way she made the order I can contact her to arrange to see children, but she won't reply to any messages).

I made my way back overseas, as I was very heated and didn't want to cause more trouble but around a month has passed now and I need to know what I'm doing with my life, below are the issues still pending:

We had enough money in a shared overdraft account to keep paying our mortgage for around 3 months, without my authority she transferred it all to her private bank account, she has been making the mortgage payments so far.

I have breached the order in an emotional haste, sent her a few polite text messages (nothing abusive non-threatening, etc) seeing the children as this is what the police explained I could do, but she does not reply? How to see my children/arrange visitation rights?

Many of our bills are joint names, who pays those now? I am still lumped with her large phone bill because it's direct debit from my account

Can I force her hand to sell the house? Or some legal arrangement to buy me out? I'm not so sure I want to be paying for a house I can't live in.

What about the property? In the house, there are some expensive TVs, computers, etc., everything I paid for basically. How to gain access to that?

I really just want this whole mess fixed, I don't want to ruin my credit rating but it's so difficult when I can't speak to her. I am not opposed to living apart but I want a reasonable amount of visitation with my children.

I am not working at the moment. I spoke with legal aid and they said I can come in and see them, do you all think this would be effective?

Thank you all for any help. I'm realising now this needs to be dealt with by way of legal system and thinking about returning home to do it, or is it better handled from abroad?

 

[CSFLW]

Hi Mark

If you are in WA, is it a VRO?

If so, what are the conditions of the VRO?

Can you go to the house?

Can you text re children?

 

[Mark Tee Kay]

Hi Mark

If you are in WA, is it a VRO?

Yes, the house is in WA I am overseas (temporary)

If so, what are the conditions of the VRO?

Can not go to house or near her or children, is what is written (I don't have paperwork here it's in Australia telling you from memory) - when the police served the VRO they verbally told me that I can contact her to arrange to see the children but that is the only reason I can contact her for nothing else. This condition is definitely not written anywhere on the VRO paperwork.
Can you go to the house?

No

Can you text re children?

I sent a few messages *they don't have phones yet* to the mother for them never a reply, EG "Merry Christmas" I have no idea if they were passed on or not

 

[CSFLW]

The first thing you need to do is make sure you understand the conditions of the VRO.

If you need assistance, click on my signature as I will need a copy of the VRO to help you.

Do not do anything else (property, children etc) until you get some advice re the VRO.

You said you were OS, which country do you live in??

 

[Mark Tee Kay]

Hi CSFLW thank you for the help, I can possibly get someone in Australia to scan the VRO to me, I don't want to post what country I"m in as I don't know if my ex will stumble across this forum and it can serve as an identifier.

After the initial messages were ignored I haven't attempted to make further contact as I was uncertain if she reported a breach or not, I would hope not, I really want to return to sort the matter our but I'd prefer to know if I'm walking in to an arrest situation.

 

[CSFLW]

Get back to me when you have a copy of the VRO.

 

[Rod]

click on my signature

FYI, your signature link appears broken to me.

 

[CSFLW]

Thanks Rod!

I have never checked it.

I will get Law Tap to look into it.

 

[Mark Tee Kay]

Yes ok I will send you the VRO shortly just waiting for a friend to scan

I'm not sure if it came across in my original post but my goals are as per below:

Return to Australia sort everything out, I can't stress enough I do not want to run, but I'd like to know if I've breached/have a warrant

I want access to the children, I am not looking for 50/50 custody a few longer visits a week are enough

I can accept not living together, however I would like to see the assets dived up fairly, a lot of the bills are in my name and I paid a lot of money for electrical goods in that house and I really don't understand how the mortgage will be paid going forward to be honest i'd like to sell or her to buy me out

I really hope this can be resolved without tarnishing my credit rating

 

[Mark Tee Kay]

CSFLW - I just read your signature, sorry you are a paid legal service or an advocate for one? Because I notice you are based in Melbourne. My issue is in Perth, I was more or less just looking for some basic free advice, as I haven't worked in months I don't have money to burn on lawyers and as I said in my original post-legal aid WA have offered to assist already.