legal help?

boo81

My bf wants to go for custody of his son, very long story but he has a more than reasonable chance of getting it.

He is at the stage of his divorce where he is waiting for pension info so they can settle financially and has had one contact since the case started (she prevented him from seeing his son for 9 months) and a follow up hearing with a magistrate as to how this has gone and where he wants to take it.

We are in debt and to be able to manage this means some big sacrifices. We know little about law and even less about Scottish law (this case is Scottish) and indeed whether this makes any difference in child cases. We have no idea how long this is likely to take and what the costs will be (the case has already cost £3000). I know its a difficult one but we need to be prepared as much as possible as it would break his heart to start persuing this and get to a point where we simply cannot afford to fight anymore.

Any advice appreciated with regards to the cost of this kind of thing!

Welshlassie

I'd say you're best bet would be to speak to CAB or try and get a free half hour consultation with a solicitor specialising in this type of thing. They should be able to give you an idea of your chances and likely cost.

Good luck.

arthur_dent_2

I should think that you can get some sort of legal aid to help with the costs of a custody battle. However if your bf was not married to the mother or if the mother has current custody then unfortunately there is very little chance that he will get much more than every other weekend and a day in the week as access. You may have circumstances which you believe makes your case different but in my experience, there is very little a father can do if the mother does not want him to have custody. In the one case I have experience of we had a lot and I mean a lot going for us but the dad in question still got practically nothing.

Sorry if this hurts but the rotten, useless legal system is biased towards mothers.

boo81

Erm sorry people seem to be missing the middle bit, he is already halfway through his divorce and so he doesnt have legal aid and already is fighting his case. Temporarily custody has been given to her but we believe she isnt doing the right thing in bringing him up

Welshlassie

boo81 wrote: »

Erm sorry people seem to be missing the middle bit, he is already halfway through his divorce and so he doesnt have legal aid and already is fighting his case. Temporarily custody has been given to her but we believe she isnt doing the right thing in bringing him up

Custody and financial settlement of the divorce are different things and shouldn't necessarily be looked at together. What is right for the child is the ultimate goal at the end of the day. His pension arrangements have nothing to do with custody.

arthur_dent_2

If you are definately not entitled to legal aid then to be brutally honest it is going to be a very difficult battle as it is not cheap and the only way to continue would be to get into more debt.

I still stand by what I previously said and if the mum already has custody, it will be nigh on impossible for your bf to get it in future.

I am sorry and good luck.

mae

What are his gounds for custody as it is very unusual for a child to be taken away from its mother. I am not saying that is right but it does seem to be the norm unless very good grounds can be proved?

boo81

I dont want to go into details but she is an abusive person, we have plenty of reasons!

I know his pension arrangements have nothing to do with the child but the divorce can only be finalised in scotland once financial and child arrnagements have been met and I am explaining the progress of the case.

I realise this will be an expensive case but nowhere seems to say how much it may be or how long it may take.

Pink_Socks

My partner was told upwards of £10k for custody proceedings. He was further informed that the courts look at the welfare of the child - it doesn't matter whether you think she is a bad mum or not, or whether you think your parenting skills are better than hers, so long as she is caring for the child then she will most likely get custody.

backward7

I am half way through a very similar situation with my 2 children and so far it has cost me £9000 with a predicted (by solicitor) further 5000 - 8000. Our case should have been a simple one with all the reports backing me and my ex is mentally ill but it depends on the Judge on the day. It does help if you have the child/children living with you on an interim residency order so they can see that the child/children are in a stable environment with you. It is a horrible process and takes far too long to resolve and in the meantime the kids are left in limbo.
Hope everything goes well for you.