QLD Legal Aid Representation for Uncooperative Mothers?

[JadeGoldCoast]

Hi all, was wondering if anyone could fill us in on what to expect from our first meeting with the ICL at the directions hearing this Friday? We know the basics; they are not our friend, do not try to get on our side, but we don't really have a clue of the process.

From our previous visits to the court I have seen a different ICL go into a interview room with the parents separately. Should my partner expect a chat with her? Should we introduce ourselves? Will she come see my partner out?

My partner is a little nervous as he was informed last week via email that this directions hearing will be in a different court with a different judge due to unforeseen circumstances, so I am hoping to alleviate some of his anxiety by having a little idea of what he should expect.

On a happier note, the last two overnight visits with the child have been amazing! Finally feels like we have a little bit of normality. 5 hours was such a short time to spend with a child, now we can spend good quality time with the child without having to worry about the time constantly

 

[JadeGoldCoast]

Bump. We've just seen on the court portal that the mother has a lawyer as of today. I think this will make my partner quite nervous, but i'm hoping this might make things easier in the long run as we can now communicate with the lawyer. Fingers crossed for tomorrow!

 

[SamanthaJay]

You're partner is self rep yeah? Then I believe the ICL will talk to your partner. Otherwise the ICL would talk to his legal representative. I'm basing this on my partner's most recent experience. The mother is self rep and the ICL spoke directly to her and my partner's barrister.

 

[sammy01]

Nope a solicitor is often a good thing... It means the ex is getting solid advice about the likely outcome... In my experience, legal aid cut off the ex's funding. We did mediation with solicitors, her's was legal aid... She didn't like the result and refused to continue with the stuff that was agreed upon at mediation... From then on it was a long procession of differently privately funded solicitors. 7 or 8 over 3 yrs. If she didn't like the solicitor's advice, she would go shopping for another one...
Advice from a solicitor is much better than advice from the women at the parents group of the boys in the beer garden of the pub. OR the boys from the parents group or the girls in he beer garden... Their can't be accused of being sexist....

My advice - just answer the ICL's questions. If there is one thing to accentuate it is that dad feels that mum and dad have similar parenting styles and really the only thing in dispute is the amount of time the kid should spend with dad...
Clearly that is a lie, given you guys hold the world record for the longest thread on this thing.... But emphasising the conflict is not gonna help your cause.

How much time do you want with the child?
How old is child?

 

[JadeGoldCoast]

Well what a difference a lawyer makes! Even our ICL said she almost fell off her chair on Friday when the mother's lawyer approached her with a proposal for increased overnight time at the father house starting from 2 nights a fortnight this past weekend and working up to 4 nights by December. The mother has also now agreed to a school and invited my partner AND MYSELF to the school open day... She even invited ME to the child's psychologist appointment today where she is now stating that the child's ASD symptoms are heavily improving and thinks he would be good for shared card (50/50) by the end of the child's first semester in prep next year.

To say we are over the moon in an understatement. The mother's tone of voice and treatment of my partner is the best it has ever been!

There's one thing that i'm curious about however. Last Monday my partner filed a short affidavit in reply to the mother's previous affidavit. Against the advice on this forum we included a paragraph stating concerns surrounding the mother's behaviour to self diagnose herself and seek out prescription medication from different GPs and also concerns that the mother with held information regarding her mental health from the short family report.

It was on Thursday last week that the mother's PAID lawyer updated the mother's notice of address for service.

I know I can be suspicious of people's behaviour and believe me, I am beyond happy with the changes, but does anyone else think this sudden change of heart has funny timing with my partner's concerns being raised to the court? The ICL has informed us she is planning to subpoena the mother's records but I have a strong feeling the mother is trying to have things in place to settle out of court before a family report can be ordered. I guess it's up to us to see if anything comes from the mother's medical records and follow the ICL.. if she has no concerns then neither should we.

Any thoughts though?