SA Family Law Parenting Plan via Phone Mediation?

[JessMoby]

Hi. I have a parenting plan via intermediate dispute management but it isn't stamped or anything through the courts. I live in a different state to my ex, I've always lived in the same state with our girls aged 10 and 12, while he has moved numerous times interstate.

My question is: our plan says I'm to pay for flights to one place but he has since moved from there to another state with his new family (wife, his step kids and newborn), now my husband and I have been sending them to the new place for about a year now but with 3 more kids it gets hard. We offered my ex to go back to family law mediation to change a few things on the plan ie time with girls and flights being the bigger topics. He refused. We told him in advance to the last holidays that we are no longer going to send them to new place and as both girls had already told him they wanted to stay with us and he did not respond to that we let it pass. He, after the holidays had passed, sent me an email that he was waiting at old place for them to arrive. I did not know he was travelling there until a week before the holidays but it was the children that advised me, and that he was only go that way for a funeral.

What am my options, as my 12 year old refuses to get on a plane to go to him. She made a huge deal at the airport last time and I was lucky enough they changed the flights for the next day free of charge. Oh and we were only agreed to pay 50/50 flights because he was not working at the time of mediation.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Sophea]

Hi JessMoby,

A Parenting Plan can be cancelled or changed at any time by a written agreement between the people who signed the original plan. So I would suggest arranging a skype or phone date or drafting an email - proposing an amended parenting agreement. Send it to your ex and see if you can come to alternative arrangements that are amenable to all.

If you are unable to agree on alternative, adjusted parenting arrangements, or the agreements you have made are not kept by your ex, you may need to go to court. The court will likely take into account your existing parenting plan, in addition to the new circumstances and the wishes of your daughters, as they are likely old enough (especially your 12 year old) to be deemed by the court mature enough to have a say in some decisions. However it is usually much less expensive and stressful if court can be avoided.

 

[JessMoby]

Hi Sophea.

I tried getting him to go back to the the mediation company we went through, but he refused. The company will not do it with me only.
I'm hoping I can go to legal aid in the next couple days and explain partially my situation to see of they can help as the mediation was via telephone conference and very expensive for a short amount of time. Like $2000 for 45 min - 1 hr.


Thanks again though. I do appreciate your reply. I'm hoping to avoid court as we originally did that when he first left the state I'm in, and it's very lengthy. I will not however do mediation through the court because they did not think of the kids, they only listened to him. But in saying that, that was just over 8 1/2 years ago.

Jess