Contact Agreement query..Needing advice ASAP

[ConfusedAsHell]

Hi, Posted recently about issues with EXP and trying to sort contact. We've finally come to an agreement and is going to be sent of to solicitors on Friday. What I was wondering is, how strong is this agreement? Like, say, for example, he fails to return DD after an overnight stay. Can I use this agreement in court? Can I contact police straight away to have her returned? Please, need advice ASAP.

You could Assuming you're not in the middle of court proceedings:

You could use the record of the agreement to go to court if he breaches it in the way you suggest, but the police will never get involved unless a child is at risk of harm.

Although an agreement isn't legally binding it is evidence a particular arrangement was agreed to be satisfactory and in the interests of the child and there would need to be some justification why it is no longer so.

The police can usually only get involved if they think a child is at risk, and whether or not there is an order or agreement not returning children is a matter for the family courts rather than the police. In an emergency the courts can deal with it in a matter of hours and call on police to assist if necessary, but that's quite rare.

Oops.. crossed posts!

In the case where there is only an informal arrangement - is there absolutely nothing a mother could do if the father decided to keep the child away from you? If there was no emergency per se, and the police couldn't get involved...what happens? If a court date is weeks or months away, could you literally be kept from your child for all that time?

Doesn't this then establish a new status quo and the court would want to keep child with father if it had been months before oit got to court? God it seems like lots of parents could change residency this way if they wanted?

you would try and get an urgent hearing.
if the parent is literally stopping the other one from taking child then you would likely invovle police or oher authorities. and there woul be evidence this is happening eg mesages etc.

Thanks everyone. I was convinced this would happen before but I'm not so sure any more. We have been in contact and both agree DD needs a relationship with BOTH parents. I haven't signed anything yet so will be asking Solicitor when I see her what steps I could take if this was to happen. He isn't going to his solicitor until Friday to get the agreement drawn up so I probably wont hear from mine until probably Wednesday next week or something.