Why Has This Man Been So Poorly Treated?

[anotheoldgit]

/// The father – who, unlike the child’s mother, cannot claim legal aid – estimates he has spent more than £100,000 in legal costs trying to see his daughter.///

What this poor chap has been forced to go through must be a living nightmare.

How is it that men seem to be so poorly treated by our legal system in such matters.

[anotheoldgit]

Ups

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2520410/Father-rights-Mother-stops-seeing-daughter-12-YEARS--despite-82-court-orders-demanding-down.html

[ummmm]

It's awful.

I can't understand why a parent would use their child as a weapon.

[charlieuniform3]

//How is it that men seem to be so poorly treated by our legal system in such matters.//

That is a very sweeping statement and you have only produced 1 story to back it up.

The story is however awful and such a shame that the mother is allowed to used the child in such a way - but we must not forget that for every good father like the gentleman in your link there is hunderds more that walk out on their kids and want nothing to do with them!

[FredPuli43]

Search me! As Aikens LJ said, the family court system has failed in this case. What is so odd about this case is that the mother has been diagnosed as having paranoid tendencies, and it also appears that she has abused drugs. There have been plenty of cases where the child has been placed with the father in such circumstances. It is patent that there is something wrong with the mother in that she is obsessed with possessing the child.

Most of these 'fathers for justice' type of cases bear little analysis; it is usually obvious why the father has been denied custody or access, or why the court has tolerated some breaches by the mother of orders, but this isn't one.

[youngmafbog]

The courts, social workers and legal system are totally against the father. This has been the case for many years and I speak from 1st hand experience.

My first wife used my two children as a weapon, I had to risk the wroth of the law by not paying. No money and she came to her senses. Turns out it was her lawyer advising her to do it. She fired him and things got better, well as much as they can in the circumstances.

This is why we have fathers4justice, but the right-on crowd who run our judiciary just dont get it.

It is a sheer disgrace.

[youngmafbog]

//Most of these 'fathers for justice' type of cases bear little analysis//

Yes, I am sure. See my above post.

[marval]

That is a dreadful story, the mother should be ashamed of herself. How could she deny her child seeing their father?

[ummmm]

My uncle went through it. Every time there was a slight disagreement his ex would stop him seeing his daughter. He'd take her to court and be granted access...until the next time.

[EDDIE51]

The point is that as I have said before, if a mother totally refuses to comply with a court order over access there is very little that can be done. What are the options? No court is going to order the child to be forcefully separated from the mother or put the Mum in jail.

[FredPuli43]

Yes,ummm, that is why cases are in court. Most parents reach a sensible arrangement without bothering any court. Only where one or both parties don't see sense, generally because one is using the child as a weapon to get back at the other party; part of the anger and bitterness arising from the divorce or separation; do they end up in hearings. And parties are so petty. We frequently get "He was ten minutes late collecting/ bringing Johnny back, and I want an order " turning up in court.

But for all that, most cases end up with some kind of uneasy peace, if not total peace. For one thing, the animosity dies down.

[boingo]

It must be heart-breaking not be able to see your child/children and I know of one couple who have put their three children through Hell just to 'score points'.

At the moment, my daughters don't want contact with their Dad and they have told him why. However, they both know that if they want to see him, they can come to me and I would make the appropriate arrangements.

[boxtops]

Let's hope that once the child attains an age where she doesn't need the mother's permission, she'll make up her own mind - but I hope the mother hasn't poisoned her mind against her father.

[hc4361]

He never had parental responsibility for the child as he didn't marry the mother and the child was born before 2003.

Dreadful situation.

[FredPuli43]

Eddie, the problem is more subtle than that. Often the father is not in a position to have the child full time. But the court can order supervised access, without jailing the mother, and will. And mothers do get jailed; I had one who was; but just being in for a day is enough to make them see sense.

[anotheoldgit]

charlieuniform3

/// That is a very sweeping statement and you have only produced 1 story ///

Surely you don't expect me to provide proof of hundreds of others, which there are, wasn't there a campaign recently (and it may still be ongoing) by fathers who have been treated unfairly'?

/// but we must not forget that for every good father like the gentleman in your link there is hunderds more that walk out on their kids and want nothing to do with them! ///

I feel sure there are, just as there are hundreds of mums who walk out on their kids, or won't allow access to the fathers, but once again we are debating this particular case, not hundreds of other cases.

[DaisyNonna]

By that time the damage may well have been done.

[anotheoldgit]

FredPuli43

Why is it, that the father cannot claim legal aid, yet the mother can?

[FredPuli43]

Ah, Legal Aid is a matter beyond my knowledge, AOG. The father may be vastly wealthy and the mother poor, but apart from that obvious possibility, I have no idea why.

[ummmm]

The article says he's a professional man so he probably earns too much to get legal aid.