Notice of Proceedings at Family Court - Travel Issues!

vanderlyle

Hi there I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions/experiences they may wish to share as I'm drawing a complete blank, and even google has little to offer me on this subject.

Basically during family court proceedings last year I gained shared residency of my son in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Following that, my ex relocated with my son, 320 miles away. I have continued to have shared residency and contact in the school holidays, which has been tough waiting so long between seeing my son, but we have had great times during the contact and that makes the waiting worth while.

Now my ex has applied to the court to have the shared residence and contact order discharged to stop me having any involvement in my sons life, and she's making up a whole load of lies to different people (doctors, social workers, school teachers, etc).

I am obviously opposing her application (and having to represent myself) but the court is 320 miles away and I just cannot afford the petrol money to get there and back. Also, as I know from previous proceedings, it wont be a matter that is sorted quickly, which means several trips and more money that I don't have!!!

Does anyone know of any help that might be out there, or any way of getting around this? Do courts do telephone hearings or video conference calls? Has anyone had one before?

Any help will be appreciated, thanks in advance.

Just to add... my ex is on benefits and therefore I wouldn't be get any financial compensation from her.

vanderlyle

Thank you 'grass is greener'.

Well I am the respondent in one case but I am also making an application for an enforcement order, so then I will be the applicant in another case. I will ring the court in the morning to see what they say regarding whether it's the court nearest the respondent or the child's primary carer.

I hope your situation works out, and if I discover any help or funding or anything of use I will let you know.

Thanks again.

vanderlyle

The courts manager said that the courts do not get involved with financial cost or expenses and suggested Citizens Advice.

Also if I am successful in my application for legal aid a solicitor may be able to request a telephone hearing. Other than that all I can do is write to the court to explain my situation but there's no guarantee that they will be able to do anything or offer any help but it's worth a try.

Thanks again grassisgreener!

All the best to you and your family.

heartbreak_star

If you have the time to do it, can you look into coach travel? Might be cheaper than a car.

Best of luck with the whole process!

HBS x

vanderlyle

heartbreak_star wrote: »

If you have the time to do it, can you look into coach travel? Might be cheaper than a car.

Best of luck with the whole process!

HBS x

Hi HBS

I have looked into coaches but unfortunately the cheap ones do not go all the way down to Bodmin, so it would mean getting an additional train, which of course majorly bumps the price up!!

Thank you though

vanderlyle

No grass is greener it certainly isn't!

We have found that in order to make the journey bearable for us, we stop at IKEA along the way (Birmingham and Bristol) to get a free cup of tea and coffee (IKEA family member card!) and a chance to stretch our legs But then again that may make someone elses journey even more unbearable hehe!!

Thank you.

grass_is_greener

vanderlyle wrote: »

No grass is greener it certainly isn't!

We have found that in order to make the journey bearable for us, we stop at IKEA along the way (Birmingham and Bristol) to get a free cup of tea and coffee (IKEA family member card!) and a chance to stretch our legs But then again that may make someone elses journey even more unbearable hehe!!

Thank you.

Any progress on this vanderlyle?

vanderlyle

Hi grassisgreener,

Sorry no updates. Basically everyone I've asked/written to says the same thing... There's no financial help available. I have to attend the hearing (wherever it is) regardless of my issues with transport and the costly travel involved for such a distance, and regardless of whether I'm the respondent or applicant.

Luckily my parents and my OH's mum have offered to help with petrol costs and I managed to find a travelodge family room for £34. I intend to take some basic bits of food down to make packed lunches, to save on eating out costs.

Unfortunately the idiots at the Legal Services Commision refused my application as they stated that my application was premature as there had been no attempts to resolve the situation prior to applying to the court!! I have appealed but am still waiting to hear back from them.

Keeping calm and carrying on though!

Nicki

My understanding was that if there had already been proceedings in one family court (ie Sheffield) then any future proceedings could be transferred back to that court, as it was already seized of the matter.

Sorry, I didn't see this thread when you first posted it, and it might be too late now if another court has started to get involved in the matter, but if there have been no substantive hearings yet, it might be worth asking for it to be transferred back to the court which made the first residency order.

Good luck

vanderlyle

Nicki wrote: »

My understanding was that if there had already been proceedings in one family court (ie Sheffield) then any future proceedings could be transferred back to that court, as it was already seized of the matter.

Sorry, I didn't see this thread when you first posted it, and it might be too late now if another court has started to get involved in the matter, but if there have been no substantive hearings yet, it might be worth asking for it to be transferred back to the court which made the first residency order.

Good luck

Hi Nicki

Thanks for that info. That is what I thought too but I was advised by a solicitor that if proceedings have already been issued by another court then that's where they will stay, particularly if that court is closest to where the child spends most of the time.

It seems to be bit of a grey area.

I think when I go down for the first hearing I will make my position clear to the judge and see if anything can be done from there, because if these proceedings drag on I just simply will not be able to afford multiple trips to and from Cornwall. I will keep you posted on what happens!

Nicki

Phone the Sheffield court on Monday and ask them? If they say they do have jurisdiction, the clerks should be helpful in telling you what you need to do to get the papers transferred back up. You shouldn't need to ever have to travel to Cornwall to do that.

These aren't NEW proceedings which are being issued, it is an application to vary an order which has already been made by another court. So the first court should have jurisdiction to hear that, and I don't think the Cornwall court does in fact have jurisdiction unless both you and your wife agree to that. I'm willing to be proved wrong on this, as family law isn't my area of specialism but it is definitely worth checking the position out with both courts direct.