WA Ex Not Following Family Court Orders - What to Do?

[AllForHer]

Look, I'm not a fan of contravention proceedings when a matter is still in the interim stages, but you might consider filing a supplementary affidavit indicating when phone calls and time spent with events were not facilitated by the mother. You can even leave it until the week or two before the next hearing date so you can have it all compiled into a single affidavit. Make sure you communicate with her lawyer, too, and ask for assurance that the mother will comply with the interim orders moving forward.

If it continues being a problem, then you start deciding whether or not you should request that the child live with you on grounds that it will be the only way the child will be able to enjoy a relationship with both parents.

 

[CasKat]

Look, I'm not a fan of contravention proceedings when a matter is still in the interim stages, but you might consider filing a supplementary affidavit indicating when phone calls and time spent with events were not facilitated by the mother. You can even leave it until the week or two before the next hearing date so you can have it all compiled into a single affidavit. Make sure you communicate with her lawyer, too, and ask for assurance that the mother will comply with the interim orders moving forward.

If it continues being a problem, then you start deciding whether or not you should request that the child live with you on grounds that it will be the only way the child will be able to enjoy a relationship with both parents.

No worries I will read up on it.

She does not have a lawyer and is getting her advice from "friends". Everything we do and say is communicated through our lawyers to her and she has sent text messages saying she will not communicate with either us or our lawyers and is not responding to our lawyers.

She has an allowance to attend hearing via telephone And The last session in April she had her 1-year-old in the background crying and carrying on.

 

[CasKat]

Hi All,

Sorry, I'm back.

We are due to go to court again soon for follow up. My partner's daughter has been appointed an ICL we have given all information we can to the ICL and paid our "contribution".

My partner has been travelling the 12hour round trip to see his daughter for 1 hour supervised sessions, as it was school holidays we had arranged a whole week of visits. 2 of the visits the mother had cancelled she has also made sure her phone is switched off or their daughter is away for sleep overs at friends houses for the phone calls ordered.

My partner is due to go another trip this weekend, but he is exhausted, he is over the rejection and the hurt. I have taken time off work to travel with him as we suspect that she will cancel again. She is still refusing to reply to our lawyers and my partner however she is also not replying to the supervision place.

The daughter abuses him at every meeting, she doesn't call him dad anymore she tells him hes nothing and no one to her.

I am trying to be supportive letting him know that his presence is enough to last a lifetime and its not the daughters words, but it is devastating to watch him go through all this. The mother still hasn't lodge her affidavit, response, financial statement or service of address

I know I'm not being very patient in this whole process, however I am torn my partner is running out of breathe and l want to keep supporting the relationship with his daughter, but i know how much it is hurting him and I have no idea how much it is hurting his daughter forcing her to come to the party and say those horrible things to him to appease her mother

Is what we are doing really in the best interest of the child? I don't know anymore the damage caused by the mother is 1 year has been astronomical

Again sorry, guess I needed to vent how hard this all is

 

[AllForHer]

Remind me how old the child is?

 

[CasKat]

Remind me how old the child is?

She has just turned 10

 

[AllForHer]

Okay, my suggestion at this point is to request an order for a family report through the Court. Someone with some weight needs to determine whether this child's feelings are genuine or if they are being parroted from a failure on the mother's part to support and encourage the child's relationship with the mother. At 10 years of age, it could go either way, but the other advantage of a family report is that they will advise whether they think the child's best interests will be met by just leaving the child to grow up without her father for a while until she's old enough to develop an opinion of her own.

Don't quit yet, though, at least not until the Court has had an opportunity to intervene in some way. I know this is hard, but the child is no doubt having a very difficult time at the moment, she's probably very confused. Just make sure you record everything.

 

[CasKat]

Hi all,

Another update, I'll catch you up first so you don't have to read the whole thread.

We have been in and out of court for over 1.5 years now next week we are attending pre-trial stage.

1. The daughter is 10.
2. The mother refuses to facilitate relationship.
3. The mother has made false accusations of abuse.
4. They live 16 hours turn around away.
5. We've done Meditation.
6. We've done supervised visits ( the mother refuses to facilitate anymore dispite court orders).
7. We've had an independent report done from the supervisors.
8. Child has been appointed an ICL.
9. We've had a Psychologist assessment (the child, the mother and the father all interviewed).
10. ICL and Psychologist Recommended all orders to be in favour of the father (unsupervised visits in perth or where the child lives, if not facilitated then they recommend change of residency)
11. The mother refused these orders in court and said no contact at all if any supervised only.
12. Pre-trial session is Thursday next week
13. The mother has now engaged a lawyer.
14. The father has had a lawyer the whole time.

My question is, now that the mother has representation, can they defer the pre-trial date? And would we have to start again?

Is there anything we should be wary of?

Kind Regards

 

[sammy01]

No idea - please let us know how it goes. I reckon mum will agree to unsupervised visits and you'll be back in court in a few months when mum contravenes.

You should be wary of everything, but stay calm.

Chance of a postponement? I hope not - but expect mum to drag it out.

Just keep going - you've come this far....

 

[CasKat]

So update:

Court was today, we waited 3 hours before it was our turn. Got into the court room, the mother's lawyer said she hasn't had enough time to get her head around the case and submit the appropriate paperwork.

They are applying to have supervised visits and the service report done and the whole process to be started again. our lawyers did not get to speak at all

The judge ruled that the mother's lawyer has another 14 days to submit all of her paperwork and we will be back in court in another 6 weeks.

So all in all, no resolution, just another stalling tactic by the mother to prevent the inevitable.

 

[CasKat]

New update:

We had pre-trial a few weeks ago, court ordered. Unsupervised day visits are at the end of every month Fri, Sat, Sun (10am-5pm). Exchanges are to be done at McDonald's with the child's aunty (father's side) and grandmother (mother's side).

The mother and the father not have to attend or have contact, only through the communication book. The mother and grandmother are to facilitate and encourage a relationship between the father and the daughter.

Friday, I went to pick up the child at the location - they weren't there. I went to the grandmother's house, and the mother was there. She said handover wasn't until 3pm-7pm and I said OK. and I went away and met them (mother, grandmother and daughter) at 3pm.

The daughter was given a mobile phone to have and spent first 3 hours of her visit on the phone texting her mum. I warned the daughter her phone is not to come tomorrow and if it does, it will be confiscated.

Saturday - I picked the daughter up and she had the mobile again, texted her mum every location we were at and surprise, surprise, the mother would rock up and we would leave. I spent the rest of the day at the Aunty's house. My daughter pulled her phone out and started calling and texting her in again.

"Dad said to put it away or it will be confiscated". My daughter rang her mum, crying saying dad is being mean and she wanted to go home. 2:30 - the mother and grandmother rock up at the house demanding that the daughter go with them as the daughter is distressed (she wasn't). Mother called the cops, and the cops came. Daughter went with the mother.

Sunday - daughter, mother and grandmother showed up at the meet spot told the daughter she didn't have to go. The daughter said she won't go and the grandmother said there are no court orders to say she has to go.

The daughter did not come for the last court ordered day.