Experience of Contact Enforcement - Scottish Court

Brief Outline:

Husband has contact order stating he is to have contact with his children half of each holiday period and monthly when he is not away (in forces). No restrictions on contact orer.

Easter is fast approaching, so we booked flights for the children for their contact (we live 600 miles away). Informed ex of the flight details and promptly received solicitor letter from ex stating she will not agree to him having contact at our home but has no problem with contact up where she lives.

Basically she not happy as she has to meet half of the costs (only for the holiday periods) we pay everything else.

Up until last summer, even though we only need to pay half, we have always done each side of the journey. Last summer during the 2nd week of my husbands contact, he broke his foot and subsiquently wouldn''t be able to return the children to his ex. He phoned her straight away and said to her she''d have to arrange the return or wait and I would return them but it would be a few days later.

Ex kicked off but collected the children.

Since then she has not allowed contact at xmas or any monthly contact.

Financially we cannot afford to stay in her city for at least a week at a time (hotel, travel, food etc...) also the children have been down here with us every holiday period for the last 3 years (Except christmas''s but thats a different story and battle - which he won! roll on this christmas.)

Just received another sol letter from ex stating she will only allow contact in their city as there is nothing on the contact order stating that my husband can have contact outwith where she lives - there is nothing to restrict it either!

Can anyone advise if a specific issue order or enforcement would be better?

I would say enforcement because there is nothing in the contact order to state contact has to take place where she lives. Also, contact in a hotel, or just during the daytime isn''t satisfactory. Does the order state contact as ''staying contact''?

In Scotland there is no specific legislation for enforcement so non compliance with a contact order has to be dealt with under contempt of court proceedings. When are you planning to go away? Solicitors here are always complaining that it takes too long to get an urgent hearing and it may be too late now for the Easter holidays.

MissTish1 wrote:

I would say enforcement because there is nothing in the contact order to state contact has to take place where she lives. Also, contact in a hotel, or just during the daytime isn''t satisfactory. Does the order state contact as ''staying contact''?

Many thanks for your reply. I cant remember the exact wording but can confirm he can have them stay here with us during his contact times. It has always been a fight to see the children, more so since our baby was born last year but usually in the end we manage to collect them at the last minute.

However i suppose we could see this coming although hoped it wouldn''t. We finally got married - children were not allowed to come even though they wanted to - she did tell him if he got married he wouldn''t see them again!

Onto court again i suppose.

Regards

Mrsthailander x

Fiona wrote:

In Scotland there is no specific legislation for enforcement so non compliance with a contact order has to be dealt with under contempt of court proceedings. When are you planning to go away? Solicitors here are always complaining that it takes too long to get an urgent hearing and it may be too late now for the Easter holidays.

Many thanks for your prompt reply again.

We are due to have the children the 2nd week of the easter holidays. Ex was informed 8 weeks ago of flight details.

Did not know we would have to seek enforcement through contempt of court - Our solicitor not in till tomorrow so fingers crossed we can get thing moving quickly.

Can''t believe the fight starts again! We have already had to fight for a contact order and a separate one for alternative christmas''s.

Onto another battle I suppose x

Update:

We just received another letter from husbands ex-wife stating that she is not stopping him having contact with their children for the 2nd week of easter hols, just she has issues with him seeing the children at our home. (but no mention what these are)

She states she wants him to get residental accomodation in her home town and will only hand the children over On Saturday Morning, once she has received written confirmation of the address!!

Obviously, as tomorrow is good friday and solicitors is closed, she knows full well that even if my husband was able financially to agree to her control, there is no way she would get anything in writing before 10.30 Saturday Morning!

The letter also states: "Although the contact order states X is entitled to 2nd half of all school holidays, the order doesn''t specifically reference Easter" ????

Can anyone advise what on earth is the best way forward as our solicitor is off sick and husband is due to fly up and collect children on Saturday Morning.