My Ex Won’t Let Me See My Child

The breakdown of a relationship is difficult enough but when children are also involved, things can feel incredibly tough. Unless the Court has intervened and ordered no contact, your ex cannot stop you from seeing your child.

If communication has completely broken down, co-parenting seems an impossible task, and your ex is preventing you from seeing your child, there are things you can do to regain contact.

Mediation

Invite your ex-partner to attend mediation to discuss your proposals for contact and see if you can reach an agreement together with the use of an independent mediator.

Both of you will be able to share your views and discuss the situation. The mediator is there as a neutral third party and the idea is that by the end of the session, an agreement is reached.

Donna Hart, Partner and Head of our Family team, is a Resolution-trained mediator and can help couples to find a solution more amicably.

If, however, you cannot reach an agreement, you can then make an application to the Court.

Court application

You can apply to the Court for a child arrangements order.

Before you can do this, you are required to attend a meeting with a mediator to see whether mediation might be suitable for you rather than using the assistance of the Court. If your ex-partner is not in agreement with this, separate meetings can be held. You will then receive something called a Mediation Information & Assessment Meeting (MIAM) certificate which will allow you to make your court application.

More information regarding MIAM’s can be found here – https://everys.legal/MIAM.

A child arrangements order regulates with whom your child should live and spend time. A court order will be valid until your child turns 18.

The physical and emotional welfare of the child is the Court’s paramount concern and any decision they make will always be based on the child’s best interests. The Court presumes that the involvement of both parents is best for the child unless evidence is produced as to why this would not be the case. It is important to remember that it is very rare that the Court will refuse any contact.

Court can be costly, and we would always recommend you try and resolve matters through communication first. Have a read of our blog on communication after separation for some useful tips on this.

If you need any legal advice or assistance, our Family Team at Everys can help. Please call our team on 0800 8840 640 or, alternatively, email FamilyNewEnquiries@everys.co.uk, or complete our online enquiry form and a member of the team will contact you – https://www.everys.co.uk/contact-us/.