Recieved a letter today stating I can no longer see my daughter, From ex's solicitor

ses6jwg

In a bit of a mixed place at the moment and in need to some advice.

My daughter is 3 years old and I have been around for all of that time and have had regular contact with her.

Me and her Mum were together for around 2 1/2 years of her life and so I saw her 3-4 days a week during that time.

Since we split up we have had an informal agreement that I have her Monday and Friday overnight and Sunday day time.

I have had to go to a solicitor to get things sorted and my intention was to get things in writing.

In terms of financial contributions, I have paid what the CSA expects ever since we split up. I have also been paying extra regularly into a savings account for my daughter.

Today after my solicitor fired off a letter asking to formalise the current arrangement in writing, I recieved a letter back saying she is stopping all contact due to " the events of the past week"

Now the events of the past week are that I contacted the EX stating that people have been telling me she is taking drugs and I have also seen my daugther in the company of CONFIRMED drug users (I have a witness - cocaine snorting).

I told her I do not wish my daughter to grow up around these people and if I thought she was in danger I would not hesitate to go to social services - these are the "events"

In terms of my old personal situation - I have a steady job with a large amount of savings, my own home with a bedroom for my daughter also. I have no criminal record, aside from a questionable allegation of harassment made just after we split up. I was not charged. I do not abuse alcohol or drugs the same cannot be said for the ex, who does also not have a job and lives off benefits.

Obviously this is very concerning as I have been in my daugthers life since she was born and she refers to me as "Daddy". I have never spared any expense and given her all the love I possibly can.

If matters are not resolved I will not hestitate to take her to court, can anyone say as to how likely it is that they uphold her attempt at blocking ANY contact whatsoever

gratefulforhelp_2

I am very surprised that a solicitor would write that letter, it must be against his/her advice, unless your ex has made allegations about you.
You may have to go to court for contact, but I hope you get it. Do you have a family law solicitor, you need one quickly?
Matters of child support should not be mixed with matters of contact, for your future "squeaky clean ness".

eta I think it unlikely that a court would not reinstate your contact unless she provides evidence that you are a risk to your daughter, which from what you say is doubtful. The sad thing is, as you may read on the child support, that some PWC ignore what the court says over and over again. Let's hope she's not one of these.

hob

i highly doubt that she can just stop u having any contact. at leats i hope not speak to your solicitor , as soon as u can he/she will know what your best move is. i hope you get to see your daughter soon maybe the social should also get involved? have supervised vitst with them untill you go to court. not plesent but at least you will still get to see her.

ses6jwg

Thanks yes it does seem a very odd thing as she has absolutely no reason to stop contact with my daugther i.e. she might be at risk etc.

SwipernoSwiping

Over the last 18 month I watched a friend (mum) loose residential rights to her child- purely due to the company she kept - the dad (who I have nothing against) walked out of his job, provided a stable - safe environment for the child -the court awarded the Dad custody, for the safety of the child. The father had concrete evidence to back up his concerns.
They are due in court again in the next couple of months with the mother having to prove she has improved her way of living, avoided people that would indirectly harm her child and she might then be awarded a night stay.

So I suspect if your evidence is concrete and you have the foundations for a safe and security home, you have as much chance of gaining access. I don't know many courts that would completely deny access to a paternal father without good evidence to back that up - but I have not been through the system.

meritaten

the solicitors letter is just letting you know that the mother doesnt want you to have access/will prevent access. the solicitor does NOT have the power to prevent access! only a court can do that.
I would be very careful about making accusations against the mother - make sure your evidence is good and you have good witnesses. and that you have dates times etc all written down. if you can prove that visitors to the home are drug addicts.......How?
I dont mean to be negative, but, to remove a child from a mothers care is difficult and you need HARD evidence, not just gut feeling, hearsay or local gossip!

DVardysShadow

meritaten wrote: »

the solicitors letter is just letting you know that the mother doesnt want you to have access/will prevent access. the solicitor does NOT have the power to prevent access! only a court can do that.
I would be very careful about making accusations against the mother - make sure your evidence is good and you have good witnesses. and that you have dates times etc all written down. if you can prove that visitors to the home are drug addicts.......How?
I dont mean to be negative, but, to remove a child from a mothers care is difficult and you need HARD evidence, not just gut feeling, hearsay or local gossip!

OP, I second this.

Normally, if someone has an allegation against someone, it is probably best dealt with face to face. But your allegations are a bit on the thin side. To my mind more is required than the child being in the company of a so-called 'CONFIRMED' drug user. So the outcome - given the history between you and your ex - is an entirely predictable retaliation from your ex for your interference.

All you have achieved by going off half cocked is to reduce your chances of collecting evidence. You really need to back off and avoid the opportunities to wade in on your own with both feet.

aliasojo

gratefulforhelp wrote: »

I am very surprised that a solicitor would write that letter......

meritaten wrote: »

the solicitors letter is just letting you know that the mother doesnt want you to have access/will prevent access. the solicitor does NOT have the power to prevent access! only a court can do that.

The OP doesn't say he received a Solicitor's letter ...just that he received a letter back.

OP I agree with the others who say, keep quiet, don't run your mouth off and quietly watch and collect evidence if there is any.

gratefulforhelp_2

aliasojo wrote: »

The OP doesn't say he received a Solicitor's letter ...just that he received a letter back.

The title says he received a letter from ex's solicitor.

aliasojo

gratefulforhelp wrote: »

The title says he received a letter from ex's solicitor.

I apologise. I read the body of the post and only glanced at the title. Of course you are right.

gratefulforhelp_2

No worries.

OP any news?