Custody

[JohnPotts]

Anyone give me any help with regard to my rights as a father to gain custody of my young son? He lives with me full time and sees his mother around 5 nights a month. I would like to know how I go about applying for custody and what my chances are. As she is threatning to take him off me and he has always bin with me and I feel living with her would have a massive effect on his life

[Pippa68]

Do you have parental responsibility ~ ie were you married to your sons mother or did you gain responsibility through the court?

You can either get advice from a solicitor (free consultation) or go straight to the court and apply for a residency order. You can also set out guidelines for contact regarding your ex and your son.

[Vesper99]

The advice to see a solicitor is absolutely important. He/she will be able to advise about residence orders and the criteria for their being made.

You do not say how old your son is: this makes a difference because the older he is the more his wishes are taken into account. However, if he has lived with you all along it is unlikely that a residence order would be made in favour of your ex partner.

Good luck