My ex is a father who wants to see his son but is denied contact

[aglasstoomany]

It made me v frustrated and upset for him. It seemed to start off amicable when they first separated/divorced however when his ex wife became aware of my existence, the contact became less and less and when I became pregnant (however had a mc) the contact stopped.
I don't understand how or why a mother would deliberately stop contact between child and father unless of course the child could be in danger etc
My ex could not afford to take her to court and is not entitled to legal aid. He has tried writing letters, making contact through his ex wife directly and when that failed her family, only to eventually receive letters claiming harassment. What on earth is a father supposed to do in this situation?

Why is he your ex now?

Hi can self rep in court - and can get support and advice from Families Need Fathers. I think they can send a volunteer with him for support.

But a bit confused why you're so involved in the life of your ex. If you being on the scene made things difficult with his ex, he might actually be finding it a bit easier to get contact established again now that you've split up

Why could he not afford to take her to court? Does it still cost something even if you represent yourself? I thought it was the lawyer fees that were expensive, not the court itself.

Anyway, unless he's been abusive to the children (and this is proven) a judge would not deny him access.

He represents himself in court.

Hi
thanks for your responses. I ended the relationship and Im not involved, I guess I just wanted an understanding, perhaps it was bitterness, I dont know. The relationship wasnt right for me, I couldnt commit long term. I had no idea he could represent himself in court though.. perhaps I feel i want to still help him. How do you go about representing yourself in court? Where do you start?

Go to the Families Need Fathers website and take it from there. They can be very helpful and maybe even can set him up with a 'Mckenzie friend' i.e. someone who is not a lawyer but who can go to court with him and even address the Judge with permission.

I think court fees for the application itself have gone up, he would need to find a few hundred for that, but after making the app should incur no further costs apart from travel to court, time spent at court etc.

Don't get involved with any organisation like Fathers for Justice or any group that bangs on about the courts all being sock puppets of embittered women. This isn't true and won't help.

The law involved in such cases is really very simple, so he needn't worry about that. Contact with BOTH parents is assumed to be in the child's best interests unless that assumption can be set aside by evidence that child is at risk, physically or emotionally, from the parent.

You will need to tell the court why you didn't go to mediation or why mediation couldn't work.

Get him to contact these people, they can help with support and advice.