Grandparents desperately requiring free legal help for guardianship

cleopatra7

4 years ago my daughter temporary left our grandson with us because she had difficulties coping with the seperation was her husband. She has never taken any responsibility for him and he has lived with us on a perm arrangement for 4 years. His father is not interested in taking on the responsibility of looking after him. He is 8 and we have had no financial support. We have tried to get legal aid to get guardianship,but because my husband works they say we cannot claim it. The cost is approximately £5000. Local social services said they don't have the resources to help. Does anybody know any organisation that can assist, we are desperate for our grandsons sake and because of the responsibility we have undertaken to get this legally recognised.

Zara33

Can I ask is the childs' birth mother still claiming all the related child benefit's?
Was it a private argeement between your daughter and you that the child live with you, or were social services involved in the process.

If it was a private agreement I think you will not get any help, but had social services placed the child in your care then they should help. I know I had to fight to get the LA to pay my legal fees when I was getting PR and a Residence order.

I'm wondering if it would be easier for you to apply for adoption rather than special guardianship. if the birth mother has no interest in the child.

tori.k

www.sfla.co.uk/residencedetermined.htm

you can apply for a resident order yourselves as the little lad been with you for over 3 years
To apply for Residence order, the Children Act Form C1 is available from your local Magistrate’s Court,
If your daughter has no issue with you getting a residence order its really simple, easy form to fill out, copy sent to all party's concerned, magistrate's signs, Jobs a good un

Zara33

tori.k wrote: »

www.sfla.co.uk/residencedetermined.htm

you can apply for a resident order yourselves as the little lad been with you for over 3 years
To apply for Residence order, the Children Act Form C1 is available from your local Magistrate’s Court,
If your daughter has no issue with you getting a residence order its really simple, easy form to fill out, copy sent to all party's concerned, magistrate's signs, Jobs a good un

From your link
Applying for a Residence Order

Applying for an order is not the most simple of processes, so one is advised to get as much support as possible from friends, family, counselors and perhaps support groups. However, getting this far in the application process does proves one’s mettle. It may be daunting but it is worth it in the end!

tori.k

Zara33 wrote: »

From your link
Applying for a Residence Order

Applying for an order is not the most simple of processes, so one is advised to get as much support as possible from friends, family, counselors and perhaps support groups. However, getting this far in the application process does proves one’s mettle. It may be daunting but it is worth it in the end!

I did state Zara if there daughter had no issue with them applying for a order, then it is simple:D

Katie-Kat-Kins

You could consider your local law centre, they provide "pro bono" legal advice, also a few universities have law centres where students run cases under the supervision of qualified lawyers. You may also be able to get some funding from an appropriate charity (I think there is a group like fathers for justice but for grandparents that have an interest in grandparents rights of access etc).

I'd suggest first checking whether you have a local law centre, if not trying CAB, and asking about other methods of funding and/or support. You could also ask a couple of local law firms what they can offer, they may have some sort of conditional fee agreement (not sure whether these are ever available for this type of work) that may be suitable or they may be able to offer a payment plan.

Zara33

tori.k wrote: »

I did state Zara if there daughter had no issue with them applying for a order, then it is simple:D

I still maintain it isn't a simple walk in the park as you think

tori.k

Zara33 wrote: »

I still maintain it isn't a simple walk in the park as you think

It took us 15 mins to fill out the form, 3 weeks for the paperwork to be filled, copy's sent to SS, 30 mins in the local court to be sign. as no one was contesting the order.
In Cornwall we are not famed for doing things quickly, thank god, but it doesnt always have to be a battle.

mookiandco

Whilst a Residence Order generally works for seperating parents, as grandparents you really need a greater say in matters than a Residence Order would give. A Residence Order would give you parental responsibilty however you would share this equally with the mother and father of the child. This could potentially cause problems in the future because you will still require the parents consent for certain things such as removing the child from the country for over 28 days, changing the child's surname etc. The parents could also refuse consent for a change of school etc. Even if they have shown no interest in the last few years that doesnt mean they wont change their mind later and start interfering. This is not to say that the parents should be pushed out completely from the little boys life but their ability to interfere with what appears to be a safe, happy environment for the little boy should be limited.

A special guardianship order is the middle ground between adoption and a residence order. It recognises that the boy has parents who should be to some extent part of his life, if not now then in the future, but it would give the grandparents the overall final say on day to day decisions and the big decisions such as where he lives, what religion he should be brought up in, his future in general etc. It does not take away parental responsibility from the parents but limits the way in which they can excercise it, essentially giving the grandparents 'the lions share' of parental responsibility.

If you want to PM me your income and capital details, I would be happy to do another legal aid calculation for you, just to make sure that you have been advised correctly.

In the meantime, this is the Courts guide for applying for a special guardianship order: http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/cb4_e.pdf

As your grandson has lived with you for over 3 years you do not require the courts permission to make the application.

The form you will require is a c1 Form found here:

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/c1_1008.pdf

You will also need to complete a C13a form:

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/c13a_e.pdf


The most important thing to start with is that you inform your local authority in writing that you intend to make an application for an SGO and request that they prepare a report for the purposes of the same.You must give the local authortity 3 months notice of your intention to make the application. The local authority have no option but to be involved and their report is of the utmost importance. The local authority will come to your home and meet you and your grandson and will also canvas the views of his parents. The local authority will also look at your finances and may be required by the court to offer you financial support.

Once the 3 months are up, you will need to make the application to the court. Complete the relevant forms and take them to your local county court with copies for you, the mother, the father and the local authority (4 copies + the original for the court). The fee for an SGO application I believe is £140.00 but do check with the court if you can or just take your cheque book!

Certainly if mum and dad agree it will bring matters to a close more quickly, however the local authority will also have to recommend that an SGO be made in your favour. The court are also likely to want to look at the issue of contact with the parents to ensure all your grandsons needs are being met.

I hope it all works out for you x

cleopatra7

Thank you for everyone's suggestions. Social services did become involved 6 months ago, even though we had sought there help 4 years ago, they were not interested at that time, because they felt my grandson was safe with us and they didn't need to be involved. They have told us that my grandson will not return to either parent because of 'serious circumstances' which I cannot obviously go into. But even though they have mentioned several times in the past 6 months that they will help to finance the legal costs, they will not put it in writing to the solicitor and he will not accept a verbal offer. Mum has said she will contest it even though she has made no attempt to look after him (she has always claimed benefits as it was easier to let her continue than have conflict) soc serv have stopped her benefits 2 months ago. We are desperate to get this matter sorted out for our grandson sake and have our legal status recognised because we are being pulled all ways by Soc serv, and parents and we apparently have no rights!!! A solicitor we went to has checked our finances and even though we have no savings he said my husbands earning (which is not a lot) stops us getting legal aid.

Zara33

cleopatra7 wrote: »

Thank you for everyone's suggestions. Social services did become involved 6 months ago, even though we had sought there help 4 years ago, they were not interested at that time, because they felt my grandson was safe with us and they didn't need to be involved. They have told us that my grandson will not return to either parent because of 'serious circumstances' which I cannot obviously go into. But even though they have mentioned several times in the past 6 months that they will help to finance the legal costs, they will not put it in writing to the solicitor and he will not accept a verbal offer. Mum has said she will contest it even though she has made no attempt to look after him (she has always claimed benefits as it was easier to let her continue than have conflict) soc serv have stopped her benefits 2 months ago. We are desperate to get this matter sorted out for our grandson sake and have our legal status recognised because we are being pulled all ways by Soc serv, and parents and we apparently have no rights!!! A solicitor we went to has checked our finances and even though we have no savings he said my husbands earning (which is not a lot) stops us getting legal aid.

You need to start applying for the child related benefits eg Child benefit and child tax credits. Can you contact someone higher up in social services like a line manager? Don't be bullied by SS, if they are not prepared to put the child back with the mother/father then they need to help you and your husband out.

There will come a point that you will need PR for that child.