Court in 2 days. What to expect please ?

[Ellarose23]

Hi lovelies, I have court on Thursday for the first time regarding my application for a residency order for my 7 month old daughter . I tried to call my solicitor today to try ask her what to expect as I’m really anxious going in not knowing what to expect . The only thing the receptionist I spoke to today said was “it won’t be your solicitor there it’ll be the barrister and she’s aware of your case” . What is a barrister? Will I have to speak in court or does the solicitor do it for you ? Will my daughters dad be invited ? If I get asked a question when I’m anxious my mind goes completely blank and I’m worried I’m going to forget things and miss things out and this is obviously very important for me to miss things out. Anyone with any sort of idea could you please explain to me? Im in Northern Ireland.

A barrister is a lawyer who represents you in court. However, I would expect your solicitor to have told you if they were using a barrister. If your solicitor hasn't mentioned this, I would expect your solicitor to be there to represent you.

Your solicitor or barrister will present your case for you. You may have to answer questions, but that is all.

Your daughter's father will be invited to the hearing. He is entitled to oppose your application for an order.

Will I have to see him or be in same room as him? If I have to listen to his side of the story il end up getting anxious and start crying cause he lies and I don’t wanna have to listen to it

I'm afraid you will be in the same room as him.

Look up “grey rock”. It’s a great way of responding even just in your head as he spouts lies. He won’t be the first or the last and the judge will have heard and seen it all. Try to remove emotions and remember it’s just a process to get through and it’ll pass.

There is a lot of waiting around, take a book or something to do. The barrister & his legal representative do a lot of negotiating & you only go to see the judge to get the order agreed. Just ignore your ex, don't let him wind you up, pretend he isn't there. Good luck.

So turns out I went to court all to be told the case was adjourned because my daughters dad hasn’t gotten his legal aid yet .
its been 13 weeks since he seen a solicitor , how has the legal aid not been done yet? I got my legal aid very quick .
so it’s been pushed back until it’s sorted , next few weeks probably . Nightmare