prh47bridge and STDIW and anyone else, please can you advise me on the following. I rang up the borough my EXH lives in to find out which schools he had enrolled my DS in and it seems he started to fill the form in but didnt finish so he didnt choose any schools or submit the form. I am not sure how to interpret this. He sent me a text on Friday, after virtually no contact with his DS or myself to ask about DS's welfare since January, no calls nothing, to say that he was picking him up on Saturday (yesterday). Naturally I was livid, he should at least give me notice of his intentions to take DS and not expect me to be sitting around waiting for him in case he chooses to pick him up or not, and also ask DS if he wants to go there
The special arrangements for children form highlighted that he would have him weekends and holidays and he never bothers to pick him up on weekends but just chooses to assume that every holiday he must be at their place. My point is when we have DS we will be going to school etc, during the holiday we also expect to spend some time with him and if his dad picked him up every other weekend for example there wouldnt be this urgency and need to have him the whole of the holiday.
What is the courts stance on formalised contact. Is it unreasonable to request that he give me two weeks notice of intention to pick DS up and also that the holiday is split between his and ours i.e. if it is a weeks holiday, four nights at his and four nights at home. My DS has expressed that half the time he is at his dads he feels like a fish of water as he has nothing in common with his dad and that sometimes he doesnt feel like going. He also expressed that he wouldnt feel this way if his dad bothered to at least call him at all. Can my DS refuse to go to his dads or will that be perceived as if I am influencing him not to go. My DS is 12 this year
I have no issue with him going there but I am fed up of EXH thinking he can do whatever he likes like come and pick him up when he feel like it and not even tell me when he is bringing him back. I must dance to his tune each time. I have been very reasonable with him so far but I have decided to play him at his own game and ensure that all contact is formalised. Do you reckon its a good idea to write to him first with the proposal or to just ask a solicitor to write it all out and seek for a Contact Order if that is possible. There is still also the issue of the threat of keeping him and not bringing him home. I am so confused and dont know what is the best move bearing in mind what is best for my son.
sorry for all the typos, my keyboard is playing up. I just wanted to add that this Easter I have booked DS in for extra lessons for his SATS in May so he will not be able to go anyway and I anticipate a lot of grief from him over this but while he is not concerned about ANYTHING at all about his son, I am. He thinks that parenting is picking him up once every three months for a week. So annoying
Thank you for reading