Trying to see his son

[station4]

Hi My partner is being limited to when he can see his son, he is a loving caring father to his son but his ex wife and her family now say that he has no parental rights and keep stopping contact. Saying that he is only allowed to stay at my partners parents house (where he is currently living) so we are not allowed to take him away for a weekend or he is not allowed to stay with him at my house we have been together for 9 months. My partner has now applied to the court for access. We have been advised by the solicitor that he will get a 15 minute hearing and will be allocated a person to assess his contact and relationship with his son over a 12 week period. has anyone ever had experience of this??? What happens? Will we get an opportunity to show how much he loves his dad and indeed me and my children. My partner is extreamly worried about this as the law so far has sided completely with his ex-wife. All he wants is to have a proper relationship with his son but basically she won;t let him if he is with me.

[Fay Mousse]

As they were married your partner has automatic parental responsibility:

Who has parental responsibility?

If the parents of a child are married to each other or if they have jointly adopted a child, then they both have parental responsibility.

http://tinyurl.com/3fr3hv

This means he automatically has the same rights as the child's mother,unless there is something significant you haven't mentioned - had he lost contact for a long time, for example?

How old is the child?

[station4]

hi he is just over 18 months old. He has not been with his wife for just over a year. Unfortunate circumstances for the little boy but my partner just wants to be a dad! and would see him at every given opportunity!

[ojread2]

This is such a shame

Really the ex wife cannot stop your boyfy form taking his son anywhere, even abroad, because as Fay says he DOES have parental responsibility, but maybe at 18 months the boy is a bit young to spend a night away form his mum?

Good luck in court and I hope your boyfy is allowed the access he wants and that his son needs

[bananie]

Everyone before is correct. as your b/f was married to the child's mother he has parental rights. He will probably be best to contact a solicitor and apply to the court for a contact order. The court will decide what is in the child's best interest. They rarely would ever reject a contact order unless there is a really serious reason. The child is too young to have his wishes taken into consideration, but your b/f must keep a diary of when/where/how often etc he has approached the ex for contact and what the result was. it may be best to go to the court as a court order may regulate matters making it easier and more routine for both sides. they may even suggest a family mediation service.