Some more help needed.

shell_542

There is a legal aide calculator onlike I think if you google it? Maybe he could join families need fathertrs for more advice before seeking legal advice. X

dimbo61

Hi Nicky321
Just reading through your post
1 Your son ? will not get custody of his child unless mum is considered a risk to the child because of mental illness or threat of harm to child
2 Dad will not get any benefits as mum/granmother wont give up the benefits and even if he spends thousands of pounds on solictors the courts will still give custody to mum
3 If he tells the Child benefit people or the CAB mum can and will stop dad from seeing his child and can stop ALL ACCESS
4 Tell Dad to enjoy his time with his child and have child as often as possible
If mum finds a new boyfriend and moves to the far end of the country he has NO RIGHTS TO SEE HIS CHILD or even know the new address.
5 The CSA only make matters worse

DX2

dimbo61 wrote: »

Hi Nicky321
Just reading through your post
1 Your son ? will not get custody of his child unless mum is considered a risk to the child because of mental illness or threat of harm to child
2 Dad will not get any benefits as mum/granmother wont give up the benefits and even if he spends thousands of pounds on solictors the courts will still give custody to mum
3 If he tells the Child benefit people or the CAB mum can and will stop dad from seeing his child and can stop ALL ACCESS
4 Tell Dad to enjoy his time with his child and have child as often as possible
If mum finds a new boyfriend and moves to the far end of the country he has NO RIGHTS TO SEE HIS CHILD or even know the new address.
5 The CSA only make matters worse

I think things have moved on slightly these days, especially nowadays when a father has PR.

It is apparent from the OP's post that what is best at the moment for this child is to be with the father. If the mother is neglecting the child by not having milk/nappies etc I personally would be contacting social services.

shell_542

dimbo61 wrote: »

Hi Nicky321
Just reading through your post
1 Your son ? will not get custody of his child unless mum is considered a risk to the child because of mental illness or threat of harm to child : The mother is suffering from depression and clearly not coping if she cannot care for the child alone without her parents.

2 Dad will not get any benefits as mum/granmother wont give up the benefits and even if he spends thousands of pounds on solictors the courts will still give custody to mum Many fathers have custody of their children.

3 If he tells the Child benefit people or the CAB mum can and will stop dad from seeing his child and can stop ALL ACCESS She can THREATEN to stop all access but if he goes to court for access, no Judge will go along with the Mother if the Dad is a fit father. A child has a right to a relationship with both parents. The mother does NOT get the final say.

4 Tell Dad to enjoy his time with his child and have child as often as possible
If mum finds a new boyfriend and moves to the far end of the country he has NO RIGHTS TO SEE HIS CHILD or even know the new address. Rubbish. He has EVERY RIGHT to see his child just as the child has every right to see his Dad. She can make it difficult but there are ways around it.

5 The CSA only make matters worse Not always, but the nearest piece to a factual sentence in this post, IMHO.

I have no idea where you have got your information from, but you are sorely mistaken on alot of it.

Nicky321

Thankyou for all your replies. I havent been on MSE to check this post until now, but there is quite a lot of advice I see.

The babys father went with the mum to register the childs birth and is named on the birth certificate, therefore I assume he has parental responsibility.

Therefore would the babys grandmother have been able to have her name (or claim) any benefits for his daughter without his consent?

Kimitatsu

The father does indeed have parental responsibility as he is named on the birth certificate.

How old is the mother? I dont understand why the grandmother feels she is losing too much money? It is only if the mother has agreed that grandma is the primary carer that grandma can claim CB and subsequently CTC and healthy start vouchers (these are means tested). Grandma will also be able to claim other means tested benefits for the baby too.

The courts will rule in the best interests of the child so Dad would have to prove that he can provide a stable and loving home with access to both parents and extended families whilst having suitable support in place himself. If Mum is suffering from PND then she should be getting support from her health visitor already - if not then perhaps someone should be talking to her to get some more help.

At the risk of sounding cynical, grandparents seem to be treating this baby as a source of income rather than anything else (if I am wrong then I apologise). Dad needs to seek legal advice as to residency if that is what he wants, and then needs to put the support structures in place BEFORE he goes to court, it will make it easier for the CAFCASS officer to make their reccomendations.

Nicky321

Kimitatsu wrote: »

The father does indeed have parental responsibility as he is named on the birth certificate.

How old is the mother? I dont understand why the grandmother feels she is losing too much money? It is only if the mother has agreed that grandma is the primary carer that grandma can claim CB and subsequently CTC and healthy start vouchers (these are means tested). Grandma will also be able to claim other means tested benefits for the baby too.

The courts will rule in the best interests of the child so Dad would have to prove that he can provide a stable and loving home with access to both parents and extended families whilst having suitable support in place himself. If Mum is suffering from PND then she should be getting support from her health visitor already - if not then perhaps someone should be talking to her to get some more help.

At the risk of sounding cynical, grandparents seem to be treating this baby as a source of income rather than anything else (if I am wrong then I apologise). Dad needs to seek legal advice as to residency if that is what he wants, and then needs to put the support structures in place BEFORE he goes to court, it will make it easier for the CAFCASS officer to make their reccomendations.

Thanks for your reply.

How old is the mother? 18 and in F/T FE, Father is also 18 in F/T HE.

It is only if the mother has agreed that grandma is the primary carer that grandma can claim CB and subsequently CTC and healthy start vouchers (these are means tested). So wouldnt the father have had to agree also (parental responsibility)?

The courts will rule in the best interests of the child so Dad would have to prove that he can provide a stable and loving home with access to both parents and extended families whilst having suitable support in place himself. Father lives at home with his parents (his dad works F/T and mother P/T) he has 3 siblings of whom 1 lives at home, other 2 siblings have moved into their own accomodation.

If Mum is suffering from PND then she should be getting support from her health visitor already - if not then perhaps someone should be talking to her to get some more help. People have offered, she seems to be getting better and has a social life.

At the risk of sounding cynical, grandparents seem to be treating this baby as a source of income rather than anything else (if I am wrong then I apologise). Only Grandma (she seems to rely on the benefits to meet her needs), mother of baby goes out quite a bit, socialising and drinking leaving grandma to babysit, mother only actually looking after the baby 1 to 3 nights per week. (Dad needs to seek legal advice as to residency if that is what he wants, and then needs to put the support structures in place BEFORE he goes to court, it will make it easier for the CAFCASS officer to make their reccomendations. Dad just wants the best for his child.

shell_542

Has he joined Families Need Fathers or sought legal advice Nicky?

With regards to the parental responsibility and the benefits, I would have thought as GM applied for them before Dad got PR then she wouldn't have needed his permission. Although I'm not sure if they would need his permission at all if he isn't resident parent of the baby.

He needs professional advice really.

Nicky321

shell_542 wrote: »

Has he joined Families Need Fathers or sought legal advice Nicky?

With regards to the parental responsibility and the benefits, I would have thought as GM applied for them before Dad got PR then she wouldn't have needed his permission. Although I'm not sure if they would need his permission at all if he isn't resident parent of the baby.

He needs professional advice really.

Thanks shell, he hasnt joined as yet, because he hasnt got the spare money, (because of his situation) and having to provide for his child. I dont think GM applied for them before Dad got PR, and Mum (GM) is only classed as resident parent because either Mum or GM is claiming benefits i think, although the father should be clased as resident as he has his child 50+% of the time and provides for her.

mum2one

As hes named on the birth cert he gets parental responsibility, but unfortunately mum holds the cards to 90% of everything.

I have heard of the situation before where grandma gets the benefits, rather than the daughter, someone we knew looked into, as their daughter was 16 when she had her baby, and the "gran" would of been worse off had the daughter of claimed in herown name for her + the baby, so maybe they have got around it by saying the daughte is full time student so "gran" gets everything.

This may sound picky, but I promise you its not, ur son needs to keep a diary, of everything, from money he has spent on the baby, (keep receipts) to time that he has spent with the baby, and where the baby has come into contact with other members of the family ets, (this will go to prove exactly what he does, and that the baby has an extended famliy.

The "full custody" could be sticky ground, but ur son needs to get at least access confirmed, as one of the other posters said, extending on it, the mum could up sticks and move 500 miles away and theres nothing that your son could do.
Sopmetimes its an injustice, but its how the system works, in favour of the mother and the father has to prove everything.

He def needs legal advice, as hes full time at uni he should automatically qualify for 2legal assisitance", his best bet would be to ring around a few solicitors ask if they do legal help scheme and if they have a seperate families solicitor, (may sound silly but.).... you don't want a one man band solicitor who does everything, you need a large practice where they have a specialist department.

Families for fathers has already been mentioned, but I would also suggest that he or you, have a look at ParentlinePlus, website and its a free phone number (soz don't have details to hand).

Good luck with it all, if you need anything pm me and if I can help I will x