What is a guardian and what do they do - family law

[scatterbee]

Hi,

Im in court next week with my Ex re contact issues.

My DD (7) lives with him. I am supposed to have contact with her all day Saturday week 1 and Sunday week 2. Wednesday after school 5 - 7 every week. (I collect her from ballet) Just lately my daughter has been refusing to come. Shes been quite upset about it and saying that i dont listen to her and she doesnt think i will bring her home (not said this to me but my ExH says this is what she has said) She has seen me at my exMILs, as apparently then she feels safe. ExH has now withdrawn contact. He has told me not to come and give her a period of a break and then we shall look at getting her a counseller (via school) to see what her issues are.

I think he is deliberately messing up my contact, he wants me out of her life. Hes unhappy with my DP relationships with her (they get on well), the fact that i have moved on and he has not. Hes also been got at by my DPs ex (very bitter).

Anyway .. i think DD needs some seperate representation as obviously he cant put her needs first. Solicitor (who is off until the morning of court next fri) said about a asking for a guardian or another CAFCASS report.

Just wondered what a guardian was and did and same about CAFCASS. We have already had a wishes and feelings report about 6 months ago.

Thanks

Hi, a guardian ad litem is appointed by the court to represent the child. The guardian is a solicitor specialising in family law.

I suggest that you make an application for enforcement of the contact order, before your ex applies for suspension of contact.

What did the wishes and feelings report say, and are proceedings still ongoing?

My personal opinion is that wishes and feelings reports alone are not sufficient where the child is as young as your daughter. Her expressed wish may be to live with her dad, but that doesn't necessarily mean that that is in her overall best interests.

A cafcass officer by the way is a person appointed by the court to investigate the application, meet with all relevant parties including teh child and make a recommendation to the court as to what order should be made. I presume that it was a cafcass officer who prepared the wishes and feelings report.

just to clarify, the guardian will probably be a cafcass officer, though they will appoint a solicitor to represent the child in court. may be different in other areas though (I'm in th North West).

The guardian isn't necessarily a solicitor. We've adopted three times and CAFCASS was involved with our child whose adoption was contested.

My child's guardian was an independent social worker whose role it was to speak with all the parties involved (my son was a baby at the time but she did come and meet him and spend some time with him) and present her findings to the court. She's there to represent the child and to decide what's in the child's best interests.

Google cafcass - they have a website.