Child arrangements advice

[Givemeabreakdagdammit]

I have a non-molestation order in place and have instructed a solicitor to help get an emergency child arrangement. The costs are already astronomical and I am wondering if anyone had any advice around being a litigant in person when it involved domestic abuse?

I want to get to the urgent hearing for child arrangements and then potentially do it myself. Is this a bad idea?

It's not going to be easy but still doable. I did regret not paying for a barrister in one of the hearings, but I made though the whole process with my very difficult situation plus language barriers. It was me with my note and a dictionary vs ex's expensive solicitor. Not nice memory but I was very proud of myself. I got legal aid for the last hearing which also massively helped.
Your idva (if you have one) or local women's aid etc. might be able to sit in the court room with you so also check if they can support if you haven't done so.

Hope all goes well for you

I work in children's social care and I see a lot of private proceedings with LIPs. However given there has been DA, are you able to access legal aid?

No I'm not eligible for legal aid. I may check out IDVA though, that's a good idea!

I knew of a woman who represented herself and brought in a barrister at the the fact finding hearing.

I provided support and advice on the various reports from Cafcass which was a humdinger of nonsense, hence the barrister

If there is established DA you should qualify for free legal aid. Unless that’s changed recently.

To be eligible you have to have suffered DV and earn under a certain amount. The NCDV helped me with a pro bono solicitor to help draft NMO but I have had to represent myself.

One can directly refer to some barristers these days so look one up i am sure they will give you a few minutes of there time about cost and when in terms of proceedings you could bring them in

That's a good idea actually and can McKenzie friends help with paperwork? It's the paperwork that scares me the most!

Not sure about Menzies friends it’s a bit risky as they are not regulated.

some are angry people who more than one judge has commented about.

i dont know how one could validate them.

Yes, I've been reading about some of them. I probably just need to focus and get it done myself. I know I can do it and I'd hope the judge would be slightly more lenient.

I did earn (although not by much) more than the certain amount and got legal aid after all. I was told my case was referred to someone for a decision and they've granted it. They asked for my bank statements and some more information. Legal aid kicked in just before my final hearing regarding child arrangement and carried on until my divorce was all sorted. I paid a small monthly contribution during that time then a lump sum after the finance part was finalised.
I don't know if rules have changed but maybe worth to have a look

Personally I think paperwork is the easier part. It is annoying and takes a lot of time but it's nothing compare to for example, the fact finding hearing...
If have to choose I would pick the fact finding to spend money on (obviously it would be nice if you can afford both)
Also now there are all the AI tools available. Not saying leaving it to the AI or completely trust the information they gave, but they are helpful when searching for templates or relevant cases etc etc.

I hope you don’t mind me jumping on your comment here.
I was hoping I could ask a personal Q to my situation with your line of profession. I left my relationship due to DA and somewhat was witnessed by my DC and was definitely in front of him at times. I chose safety for my child and stopped contact between DC and their dad and asked my DC father to take me to court for access. This was almost 1 year and still nothing. I want my DC to have safe contact with his father. Do you think I should proceed to arrange this via court/mediation or leave for dad to sort, in your professional opinion?