FHDRA

[Buscake]

Just wondering if anyone has any experience of this to help me? I have mine midway through July with Cafcass call scheduled 2 weeks before then. My ex husband is set to be arrested this week for breaching the NMO against one of our children. I doubt they will charge him but they have confirmed they will arrest. My hope is that this will play badly for him??

I believe in theory I can request special measures to shield me from him (there is extensive DV) but looking at videos of the court room this doesn’t look practicable in real life? I will ask my solicitor all of this, but aware of how much she charges per second!! I will be sick if I have to see him. It will destroy me. I’ve gone 6+months and want this to continue. Any advice or experience would be gratefully received.

With the court date, your solicitor should complete the paperwork that states DV was an issue and you would like special measurements. This would mean you and your solicitor have a room to wait in before (ex will be in the general.waiting room) and then when you enter the courtroom you will have a divider so you can not see each other. I found it really useful. You can put in about a McKenzie friend, where a friend can enter the courtroom with you. They can not talk except to talk quietly to you. Some barristers find them more of a hindrance than a help. But it depends what you need, your friend or family member could stay in the waiting room for you. I never saw my ex st all.

I am not 100%, but it sounds like that you will need a section 7 report or I think it is called a Fact Finding. So this first date is likely to just be about deadlines for cafcass to meet with you, the kids, your ex, write their report. The report includes police checks, the Fact finding I think is more indepth. You then read the report and write a position statement in response whether you agree or disagree with the recommendations. Then you will return to court. It depends on how complicated it is on jow many court dates you will have. I would suggest following LegallyNik on instagram. However as you already have an NMO in place it could be a different process as you may not need a section 7 but the Fact Find... I think that is what it is called.

Hopefully someone else with more knowledge and experience can come along and help you out. Wishing you all of the luck.

Good advice above.
Solicitor should have filled in a form which means you are given a separate waiting room, and then brought into court separately behind a screen. When you arrive at the court (go earlier than needed) you need to tell them you have requested special measures.
You won't have to see him but you will hear his voice In the court room. He cannot speak directly to you.
You need to ask in court for a fact finding. This means they will look at everything before any decisions are made.
Finally cafcass are not your friend and they are not on your side (or in my case, not on my child's side either). Just give them the facts, nothing more.

Thank you both for your responses. It is such an isolating and lonely place to be. Friends are being great but they don’t know the system any better than I do so it’s hard to know what is realistic and what isn’t.

I’ve been told fact finding will be necessary and there will for sure be section 7 as we are still under children’s services and have been for years..

Ive heard so many different things about cafcass. Social worker told me to treat them the same way I do her, and not to worry. But of course I do. There are substantial and extensive safeguarding issues with my ex so I am trying to trust the process, but I know that ultimately it depends on the judge, on the Cafcass officer - all so subjective :(

im hoping that the arrest will loom heavily over proceedings but also am aware that situations like mine are perhaps not the anomaly in family court? Bleurgh. Hate it all!

With Cafcass i actually made a powerpoint wjth my points, all child focused, and put any evidence i had like screenshots. I would say just talk about the affect on you but mainly the kids, don't name call or badmouth him, keep it factual. Be honest.
Also have a list of your main concerns moving forward.
My experience with cafcass and court was actually OK, I think the people I had were understanding I just think the process isn't right.
I didn't have anyone that went through it either, and it is so hard as no one truly understands until they have been through it themselves. Keep positing on here as there is so much support and knowledge which had reslly helped me.