Just wondering if anyone has any advice/knowledge to impart. My ex has seen my 6yo Dd a handful of times in the first couple of years of her life, and has not been in contact since then, other than occasionally to try to get me to drop the child maintenance claim. Recently he's emailed intimating he wants to start mediation to discuss access. My gut (and brain) says there is more to this than meets the eye and as he has consistently proved himself to be an utter twunt both to me and to my Dd I'm loathe to welcome him into her life with open arms.
He's mentioned mediation. We did that years ago and it was awful, I cried, he showed up 50 minutes late, it was extremely distressing. I would agree to mediation in order to appear cooperative but would do the shuttle thing where you're not in the same room.
My instinct is to say if you want access you'll have to take me to court. That would at least show he is being at least a little bit proactive. And there's a huge chance that he wouldn't bother/couldn't afford it anyway (though his mother might pay). However obviously he could take me to court and could it hugely backfire?
So my question is, if he did take me to court what kind of access would he be likely to get? He has no relationship with my daughter through his own choice, would a court say she has to have overnight stays and things? His lifestyle is completely chaotic and he hangs out with some incredibly unsavoury characters so the thought of her being in his home is very distressing, even without her having to stay overnight with someone she doesn't know. Could he ask for 50/50 custody?