residency orders

[staci]

my younger sister living at home with my parents has a residency order for my son. there is no criminal or medical reason for this. i signed the papers for it when my marriage broke up. how do i go about getting my son back, i have recently started seeing him again after a year. all cooraspondence with them has been thru their legal team. i dont have one. thanks in advance.

[kittywoo]

first you need to get a solicitor, they will be best to advise you on your situation, if you are on a low income you may be entitled to legal aid, go to c/a to find out more, the courts will decide on where your son has the best possiable care, you need to maintain the regular contact, and good luck i hope it all works out.

[dancecaller]

I am not a legal expert but I think you should put your son first.
It must have been a big upheaval for him, as well as for you, when your marriage broke up.
It's good that you are seeing him again, take it slowly and build up your relationship with him.
What a shame that you don't have better contact with your family.
Maybe you could talk to Relate http://www.relate.org.uk/. They will know about the legal and the emotional side of things. They offer a confidential service so you will be able to go into more detail than you might want to on a public forum. We don't even know how old your son is (a year is a long time for a baby).
Hope it goes well for both of you.

[staci]

my son will be four in november. none of this was my choice, my family have cut ties because of relgious reasons,

[pilla_uk]

You should seek advice from a solicitor, many offer an introductory conference for free, if you decide to instruct them to act for you then you may qualify for legal funding-this is means tested. They can begin correspondence with your family and it may be capable of resolution by mediation.

However, if not, you can apply to the court for a residency and/or contact order. This begins a process where the court investigates the child's current placement with your family and the placement you have to offer. The paramount consideration is always the welfare of the child. This includes cultural and religious needs but also his emotional, educational, physical&social needs. He is rather young for the court to consider any view the child expresses. The court won't consider changing residence immediately if he has not had contact with you for some time. That will need to be built up over time and regularly reviewed. It may need to be supervised at a neutral venue at first until the child is comfortable and the court is satisfied he is not at risk of harm, physical or emotional.

The court will be assisted by a CAFCASS officer, basically a child court reporter who conducts visits with all the parties and meets the child in both settings to assess the situation. They prepare a report for the court recommending a way forward. The court is not bound by this but it carries significant weight in the decision.

A warning though, these things take a long time so don't expect too much too soon. It will all have to be at a child friendly pace and court hearings take a while to secure. But if you are sure and committed to your decision then go for it. You may decide that you don't wish to change the child's residence as long as you get contact with him. It is very rare for a court to make an order for no contact between a child and their natural parent so you will be in with a shot providing you dont have a serious history of violence or

[staci]

there is no legal or medical reason why not, i have no history of any kind. im not even sure how it all managed to get this far. i have had two visits with him so far, and i cant understand why they have to be supervised by my family aswell as the volunteers at the center. i have my other two children nearly all the time, i share custody with their father.