Custody

[torij89]

Hi folks

Not sure if this is the right section for this, just looking for for anyone that might be in or had been in my situation at some point,

My dilemma is this ...

My ex partner has taken me to court twice this year for access to the bairn and both times he's been told out right no by the judge, he is due to appear again in court tomorrow to tell the judge if he's continuing with his action or not,

On the last hearing date he was living in a different country to me (I'm in Scotland and he was in England) he was told to move up north and get his mental health dealt with, he was also told that he would not receive a penny more of legal aid and he would have to foot the legal bills if he continued- as a result his solicitor ceased acting on his behalf and now my solicitor can't serve him the papers for the up coming hearing as we no longer know his whereabouts,

The hearing is tomorrow (22/10/18), my solicitor has advised that my attendance is not required and that she will act on my behalf, but the ex is required to be there - if not the judge will make a decision based on the ex's non attendance

Can anyone who's been in a similar situation tell me what sort of outcome I can expect if he doesn't show face (I should note here that the ex has been ruled unfit to date - to have contact because of his behaviour and mental instability)

Thanks in advance

I'm afraid I don't know but wanted to wish you all the best for the hearing. Well done for getting this far. Just a little further to go. x

I don’t either but also wanted to wish you the best of luck.

If you ask MNHQ to move your thread to “Legal Matters” there are some qualified MNers who may be able to help

Your solicitor will have to show the court what steps were taken to serve on your ex partner so that he was aware of the date. But if he doesn't show up, chances are the sheriff will simply dismiss the action.

Hi gals - wee update - he was a no show as the papers couldn't be served - we have another date for the hearing for us to try serve the papers to him - we have sent a letter to his sister who lives in the same town as us in the hopes that she will tell him and get him to phone my solicitor to advice what's happening and wether or not he's going to be in attendance or November 26th (4 weeks today). We also may need to resort in a private investigator (if we are given the go ahead) to track him down - we know he is still in the last known town as the csa has told us the start of his new post code (largely the main reason why we sent a letter to the sister)

I have no updates as yet to if either the ex or the sister have replied to the letter,

One hopes he turns up and tells the court that his fight is over - it's been 3 years next month (December) since we left him and he's made almost no effort - other than hiring a solicitor and finding out through his friend with a big mouth that I moved back to Scotland,

He seems delusional that he's going to win and that social services are going to wait on him hand and foot (according to the independent solicitor) and do everything for him when he eventually gets his custody (this contributes to the judge ordering him to go get help psychologically)

He also seems delusional that his filthy house with broken furniture is fit for a child (especially a disabled one - the bairn has autism - something that the ex considers an excuse to allow him to do what he wants),

Again, if anyone has been through anything that's remotely similar any advice or a share of your experience of how it's gone for you would be much appreciated (and a big thank you to those who have already commented)