WA Family Court - Mother Suddenly Restricting Access to Children?

[Anthony1974]

Hi,

My ex & I had an amicable arrangement for shared custody of children for our two girls (J, 12 & M, 7) which was a week by week basis 50% time share. Then out of the blue she messaged on my pickup day of the girls stating that she is changing the arrangement to the girls staying with her during the week & I only have them on the weekends.

Myself & the kids hate this! What rights do I have to change this back considering we have never been to family law court? I've initiated mediation again with Relationships Australia again, to obtain a certificate once she pulls out like she always does. Family Court could be months away to obtain a parental plan.

Help please

 

[sammy01]

How long have you been separated? How long have you had 50/50 care?

Look your options are pretty limited especially if you don't want to hire a solicitor. You could communicate to ex and say that you'll agree to having every weekend Friday through to Monday morning and that if that is not suitable she can apply to court but in the meantime you expect the 50/50 to continue.. But it is all bluff, if she makes a scene at the school or what ever you are better off playing nice rather than having a dispute in public and winding up having the cops called.

There are ways to get to court without the mediation certificate, however a solicitor is going to be your best bet to make that happen.

 

[AllForHer]

While there are no orders, there are no rules, so there's really nothing stopping you from telling mum 'Sorry, I've decided to reverse the arrangement, kids will live with me during the week and you will see them on the weekend'.

Should you, though? Probably not, because there's nothing stopping her from doing the same thing again, and then it just turns into a tug-of-war with no real perceivable outcome.

If you have your s 60I certificate, the wisest path to take is to file an initiating application with the Court for parenting orders that reflect the arrangements that were in place prior to her unilateral decision to change them.

Without knowing anything about the other parent, there are some facts in your post that lead me to believe you have a reasonably good chance of getting the outcome you want, with fairly minimal complication.

First, you already had a 50/50 arrangement. Hopefully, there is little to no proof that you ever wholeheartedly agreed to change it.

Second, risk to the children's safety or well-being obviously isn't a factor here, which is good for your case. Allegations of abuse quite often pop up when Court proceedings start as a strategic effort to gain the advantage, and they can complicate matters, but they're less likely to do so if a parent is saying the other is violent, yet is still okay with them having the kids every single weekend.

Third, if you have the kids three nights a week, you're very nearly still in a 50/50 arrangement, except it's one that means you aren't involved in the school week, just as mum doesn't get the leisure time with the kids on the weekends. The Court doesn't like care arrangements of this nature, because it doesn't ensure the kids are benefiting from all aspects of their parents' involvement in their lives.

The Court process is sluggish, but have patience. Once it's commenced, it puts a time limit on the current my-way-or-the-highway care arrangement that you're abiding now. In the meantime, play nice, because staying level-headed is how you maximise the likelihood of getting the outcome you want.

 

[teflongirl]

Hey I didn't know there was time limit to the court? I've been in court since December 24th 2015.

 

[AllForHer]

There isn't. The time limit I'm referring to is that it'll either be settled by consent or by the Court, so the current circumstances won't be allowed to continue indefinitely.

 

[sammy01]

Mate if you're having 3 nights a week and it is all weekend, I reckon you're on a good wicket. Spend a bit of the weekend doing some reading etc with the kid