OH's ex had kids taken off her - OHs rights to his son?

[whalemummy1328]

It's a very long winded story, but OH had a baby with another woman - it was all a bit confusing to begin with so at the moment he's not on the birth certificate (it is his child).

We had a late phonecall from the ex saying the kids had been taken from her and placed with her parents - three months ago.

Does anyone know what rights OH has over his son? EX has said all along he needs his name on the BC and her views on that have not changed so he's going up there so they can re-register him together.

Can OH then look into custody? From talking to the ex (I have no problem with her as a person) she isn't sure whether she is going to get her kids back or not and its "up to the dads and SS what happens next".

OH has said that whatever decision is made it'll be in the best interests of the kids (there are three of them - only one is OHs) which is fair enough - but would bringing his son to live with us an option? Or would SS want to keep the boy in their catchment area as it were? They're up north and we're in Bristol.

Thanks in advance! And sorry for the bit of a waffle!

XWhalemummyX

how old is the child and how much contact has he had with your dp?
Ordinarily SS would want to keep children within the family but your dp would need to apply for parental responsibility, which he doesn't currently have as he's not on the birth cert. But having said that, depending on the age of the child and the level of contact ss would need to decide whether it would be in the child's interest to be placed with his father who he doesn't know and to be separated from his siblings or to stay within a family unit with his grandparents.

Your dp should be seeking legal advice really.

Thanks. He's a toddler. OH saw him weekly until this kicked off ans the exs phone broke and neither party could contact one another.

But it does make sense regarding the siblings and grandparents.

Appreciate the help xx

Yes agree that your OH needs to get PR - there are various ways of doing this, so you can google. I am a retired sw and agree that your OH makes himself known to the social workers dealing with this case, and his wish to care for the child IF he is not returned to the care of his mother, as that doesn't seem clear at present.

Children can be removed under S20 of the Children Act 1989 and placed with relatives or foster carers, with the consent of the mother. This may be the case here, and the LA have a duty to work in partnership with the mother and attempt to return the child/ren to her care. They will need to carry out comprehensive assessments of the mother and she may have a psychological assessment too. LAs have to take this route IF the mother is willing to consent, and then if she tries to remove the child/ren the LA can go to court to request an Emergency Protection Order (EPO) which lasts for 7 days and if granted they would then get the matter into court for an application for an Interim Care Order (ICO)

Your OH needs to find out what is happening and as there is no dispute that he is the father, he has a right to know the circumstances surrounding the removal of his son.

The issue of geography is not important. IF the child is not returning to the care of the mother, then the LA have a duty to plan to secure the future of this young child. They will I think have to assess your OH (and yourself) as I think he takes precedence over the grandparents. There are various routes for permanency and the most usual one is a Special Guardianship Order (SGO) but that's rolling the tape on............I think the first thing is for your OH to get in contact with the LA and make his wishes clear and they should take it from there.

The only other thing, are you absolutely sure that you are well motivated to take over the care of this child for his entire childhood and beyond. I don't know the ages of your children, but these are issues that will be covered in any assessments undertaken.