I did post this on 30 days only but had no responses so thought i would post this here. I am a long time lurker though. Just looking for some advice to make sure i'm doing the right thing and not harming my DD's mental wellbeing in anyway.
I have a 7yo DD who has had no contact with her bio dad in 5 nearly 6 years. The contact before this was sporadic, he was inconsistent with visits and would rarely show when a visit had been arranged, although my DD's gran would often turn up instead. These visits were supervised as per advice from a family law solicitor, they were increasing from 1 hour to 2 hours twice a week but contact ceased and we are where we are now, nearly 6 years later with no contact. These were originally offered when my DD was still a young baby.
I have now received a letter stating that her dad wishes to re-establish contact.
I am fine with this and i am proposing weekly visits in a contact centre for a few months or however long it takes, to allow my DD to build a positive relationship. Eventually building up to home visits in his house once my DD feels comfortable with this. He is not named on her birth certificate.
Is this a fair arrangement? I don't want my DD to be forgotten about/abandoned again now she is at an age where she can understand and obviously question why he hasn't turned up. Is there anything i need to say to my lawyer? Should i request a residence order? Can i request that only her father attends the meetings? I live in Scotland.
How do i talk to my DD about this in a positive way? I've never talked about why her dad is not around but she is clearly aware of this as she has mentioned it before. If you made it this far thank you 