NSW Family Court - Ex Withholding Kids if Girlfriend is Around?

[Louise too]

Wondering if anyone can offer some help.

I have my kids from Thursday to Sunday every week. My ex-wife of over 18 months is now refusing me to have kids if my girlfriend is with me.

The kids have known her since September and everything went well. My kids even really like my girlfriend's daughter ( who is older) and have become close.

However recently my ex admitted that she gets jealous when the kids come home on a Sunday and talk about the weekend the kids had with us, and my ex said she finds it hard to listen how much fun the kids had and admits she has to walk away from the conversation.

She then demanded me to see my girlfriend Monday to Wednesday only and I see the kids only without my girlfriend from Thursday to Sunday. I disagreed.

Now all of a sudden she is saying the kids do not like my girlfriend and will not release the kids to me this weekend unless I put in writing I will not be seeing my girlfriend on weekends.

I kept all msgs and recorded the phone conversation where she states this. I’m currently hassling my lawyer to start an application to go to family court.

Would interim orders help with this?

Any opinions on what to do?

 

[Migz]

Welcome to Family Law, your ex wife is in the wrong here, and they cannot dictate the terms of who you can and cannot see. I too had have had to learn the hard way, as my ex drags back to her house whatever gutter rat she finds out and about, this individual is then able to spend as much time as they want around my little 2yo girl, yet here I sit 12 court appearances on I find myself still on 8 hrs a week "parenting time"...

Unless your current girlfriend poses an unacceptable risk to your children or they have a chequered past (that could be brought up by your ex wife issuing a subpoena), then I would be contacting Relationships Australia, and getting booked in for a mediation, fast forward to June 2019, and you should be infront of a Federal Court Judge, after having filed your interim and final orders, around March 2019.

What you can do in the mean time is converse with the ex wife via email only, respectfully request they dates and times you wish to see the children each week, and don't respond to her line of questioning about your girlfriend, your emails need to remain child focused only. Send your email once a week, if she fails to respond or fails to hand over the children, you then have a fair amount of paperwork to put into your annexure, proving that you have wanted to be in your childrens life come March 2019 when your file it all...

 

[Louise too]

Welcome to Family Law, your ex wife is in the wrong here, and they cannot dictate the terms of who you can and cannot see. I too had have had to learn the hard way, as my ex drags back to her house whatever gutter rat she finds out and about, this individual is then able to spend as much time as they want around my little 2yo girl, yet here I sit 12 court appearances on I find myself still on 8 hrs a week "parenting time"...

Unless your current girlfriend poses an unacceptable risk to your children or they have a chequered past (that could be brought up by your ex wife issuing a subpoena), then I would be contacting Relationships Australia, and getting booked in for a mediation, fast forward to June 2019, and you should be infront of a Federal Court Judge, after having filed your interim and final orders, around March 2019.

What you can do in the meantime is converse with the ex-wife via email only, respectfully request they dates and times you wish to see the children each week, and don't respond to her line of questioning about your girlfriend, your emails need to remain child-focused only. Send your email once a week, if she fails to respond or fails to hand over the children, you then have a fair amount of paperwork to put into your annexure, proving that you have wanted to be in your childrens life come March 2019 when your file it all...

Thanks for your reply.

So sorry to hear about your situation. I can’t imagine going from every weekend to nothing, or a couple of hours. I have been issued Cert 60i as she did not attend mediation
Yes, I will record another conversation with her tomorrow and ask again to have children.
But if she still refuses, I’m not sure if I give in and not see girlfriend so I can see kids ??? But that seems wrong.

I have asked her numerous times why do kids do not like her. But she can’t specify !
I can’t wait for 6 months to see my kids

 

[Migz]

Good thing is it won't be 6 mths if you already have an s60i, if you have that already and its less than 12mths old, then I would be spend my time each and every night for the next week, in putting together, your Initinating Application, Notice Of Risk, Affidavit & Annexures, then file it all the middle of next week, you will be given a court date 2 to 4 mths away.

The good thing in your case is that you are able to prove that you have already been carrying out the current "status quo". I would email her in regards to this weekends visitation, should she with hold the kids then this can go into next weeks paperwork. Don't give in about the girlfriend, it will just set you up for further failure down the track, when she comes up with another reason why you cant see your kids. You might miss a few weekends with the kids, but in doing so shows the court what type of woman your ex wife is...

 

[sammy01]

Agree put it in writing and suck it up. You can be in court within 10 weeks and the magistrate will tell her to grow up. But in the meantime you will be seeing the kids

 

[Louise too]

Agree put it in writing and suck it up. You can be in court within 10 weeks and the magistrate will tell her to grow up. But in the meantime you will be seeing the kids

10 weeks !! I’ve been told by my lawyer 5 to 6 months. She also wants extra $350 per week to help pay for childcare otherwise no kids.

 

[Louise too]

Good thing is it won't be 6 mths if you already have an s60i, if you have that already and its less than 12mths old, then I would be spend my time each and every night for the next week, in putting together, your Initinating Application, Notice Of Risk, Affidavit & Annexures, then file it all the middle of next week, you will be given a court date 2 to 4 mths away.

The good thing in your case is that you are able to prove that you have already been carrying out the current "status quo". I would email her in regards to this weekends visitation, should she with hold the kids then this can go into next weeks paperwork. Don't give in about the girlfriend, it will just set you up for further failure down the track, when she comes up with another reason why you cant see your kids. You might miss a few weekends with the kids, but in doing so shows the court what type of woman your ex wife is...

Thank you. Can I ask what notice of risk is? And can voice recordings be heard in court.
She has even denied me access via seeing them as well as talking to them in the phone.

Anyway, I can speed up the court process.

 

[Scruff]

She also wants extra $350 per week to help pay for child care otherwise no kids

That's blackmail.

Part 4B NSW Crimes Act
NSW Legislation

 

[sammy01]

Forget the voice recordings. More trouble than they are worth.
Keep the kids away from girlfriend in the short term and apply to court for parenting orders

 

[Scruff]

Voice recordings certainly are worth the trouble, but only if they are clearly incriminating and you don't incriminate yourself. I've seen a person convicted for intimidation under the Crimes Act based on a single message left on a mobile message bank.