Hi, this might be a long post as there are lots to explain, so thank you if you take the time to read it.
I am the step parent and my partner is the biological father.
We have had my step child (4 years old) full-time for 2 years as of October just passed. In this time, she has had a very rocky relationship with biological mum. We gained full custody of children due to the bio mum and her partner having nowhere to live due to a drug addiction to explicit drugs. The bio mum's partner was incarcerated for manufacturing Ice in his home, dealing the drugs and issues with an outlaw bikie gang.
The Bio mum would and still does drop off the face of the earth for a few weeks - months at a time with absolutely no contact with stepchild. She will then come back on the scene for a few weeks and disappears again.
In June this year, we decided to move interstate for more family support and cheaper living as we also have a baby together. We contacted the bio mum and she agreed to the move (we hadn't heard from her since February when we contacted her to advise). She just wanted to spend some time with my step child before the move. In this time, we learnt she was still with her partner that she had advised she was no longer with.
For obvious reasons, my partner was concerned about step child being around him. After 2-3 weeks, we received a letter advising she didn't give us permission to leave, however, there are no custody orders in place. A mediation was attended last year but after 3 visits, the bio mum didn't arrive to collect step child for her visit. There had always been inconsistencies with her visits and agreements broken on her end. So we have since moved anyway as we could not afford to live where we were and we all wanted to be closer to family, who live where we have moved to.
The Bio mum is threatening a recovery order and we have been here 4 months now. Prior to us having stepchild full time, it was 50/50 but we have had full care for over 2 years. I'm just wondering what her chances might be of receiving a recovery order?
There is much more to the story for when and if it goes to court such as 3 family members are willing to write affidavits explaining how the step child would be left unattended for hours at a time when in her care, lived on 2 minute noodles, multiple domestic arguments would occur in front of her, etc.
Oh and she also agreed in mediation that her partner would be nowhere near step child (they were separate at the time as he was in prison) and she agreed he was a possible danger to her welfare.
Would those things be taken into consideration if she tried to get a recovery order (her partner's incarceration and charges)? The Bio mum has always shown inconsistencies with having a relationship with the step child and I have proof of us trying to contact her and the periods of no contact, etc. The mediation agreement was left as a draft, as she broke it prior to it going through the family court.
Thank you for your time.
I am the step parent and my partner is the biological father.
We have had my step child (4 years old) full-time for 2 years as of October just passed. In this time, she has had a very rocky relationship with biological mum. We gained full custody of children due to the bio mum and her partner having nowhere to live due to a drug addiction to explicit drugs. The bio mum's partner was incarcerated for manufacturing Ice in his home, dealing the drugs and issues with an outlaw bikie gang.
The Bio mum would and still does drop off the face of the earth for a few weeks - months at a time with absolutely no contact with stepchild. She will then come back on the scene for a few weeks and disappears again.
In June this year, we decided to move interstate for more family support and cheaper living as we also have a baby together. We contacted the bio mum and she agreed to the move (we hadn't heard from her since February when we contacted her to advise). She just wanted to spend some time with my step child before the move. In this time, we learnt she was still with her partner that she had advised she was no longer with.
For obvious reasons, my partner was concerned about step child being around him. After 2-3 weeks, we received a letter advising she didn't give us permission to leave, however, there are no custody orders in place. A mediation was attended last year but after 3 visits, the bio mum didn't arrive to collect step child for her visit. There had always been inconsistencies with her visits and agreements broken on her end. So we have since moved anyway as we could not afford to live where we were and we all wanted to be closer to family, who live where we have moved to.
The Bio mum is threatening a recovery order and we have been here 4 months now. Prior to us having stepchild full time, it was 50/50 but we have had full care for over 2 years. I'm just wondering what her chances might be of receiving a recovery order?
There is much more to the story for when and if it goes to court such as 3 family members are willing to write affidavits explaining how the step child would be left unattended for hours at a time when in her care, lived on 2 minute noodles, multiple domestic arguments would occur in front of her, etc.
Oh and she also agreed in mediation that her partner would be nowhere near step child (they were separate at the time as he was in prison) and she agreed he was a possible danger to her welfare.
Would those things be taken into consideration if she tried to get a recovery order (her partner's incarceration and charges)? The Bio mum has always shown inconsistencies with having a relationship with the step child and I have proof of us trying to contact her and the periods of no contact, etc. The mediation agreement was left as a draft, as she broke it prior to it going through the family court.
Thank you for your time.
