First hearing - contact order

Hi all

We have first appointment at court next week, half an hour with CAFCASS & then 15 mins in court. I've had telephone interview with cafcass and have told them my concerns.

I've sent C1A to court, assume they will send copy to stbx and one to CAFCASS.

Does anyone know what happens in the half hour with CAFCASS, assume both me & stbx will be there, does stbx have to explain his contact application and me respond? stbx has been very aggressive in what he's written, making out that i'm a black & white animal that lives in a field and eats grass, i'm totally the opposite and have done everything i can to encourage contact, but he just messes it up and tries to make me out the bad one.

He's got no heating or hot water in his house, i'm told the central heating has broken down (6 months ago) and its not been mended yet. Overnight stays are out of the question at the moment but do I bring such petty things up at court?
Petty yes, but don't want dd staying in a freezing cold house.

Thanks
Escaped

Hi,
All cases are different but I reckon it will go something like this.

The time spent with CAFCASS will be spent trying to see if you can both come to amicable terms regarding contact.
If you can then when you go in front of the judge he/she will then rubberstamp your contact arrangement by way of making an order.
If you don't come to amicable terms then you're in for the long haul.
The judge will most likely order CAFCASS to do a section 37 report.
Numerous court appearances over the next year and maybe the issuing of an oder which will not suit you.
I'm not saying you should agree to everything asked of you but I do think you should try to settle things at the Directions hearing.

You could agree to staying contact with some conditions attached, like him having the hot water/heating repaired before the first overnight takes place etc:
These matter are usually dealt with in the form of an undertaking which becomes part of the order.
CAFCASS may be asked to ensure the conditions are adhered to.

Good luck.

Hi

Me and stbx have both had telephone interviews with CAFCASS and are at court next week. I've explained everything from my side to cafcass (described emotional abuse towards me, and towards our dd aged 4, and that stbx has a problem with alcohol and his childish/agressive behaviour throughout our marriage). He's told cafcass that i'm bipolar, even though i'm not. Yes i suffer with anxiety/depression but that's because of how he's treat me and i still suffer even though we've been apart for a year now.

I'm not into mud slinging, i always tell the truth but he lies continuously and anything I say to him he twists it and denies things that he knows are true.

I've agreed to supervised contact, the amount and pattern is yet to be agreed, so during the half hour with cafcass before court hearing, can anyone give me any idea what will happen - will I have to give examples of his behaviour (even though i've already told cafcass), will i have to say how his behaviour has affected me, will i have to explain how his behaviour and what he's said to our daughter has affected her - even though i've already told them, and have written on the C1A?

And when we go into court, am I likely to be questioned about his behaviour - cos to be honest there's that much of it I think i'll just be dumbstruck. I have it all written down, every problem he's caused with contact, everything he's said to me, to our dd - but without written notes i'll be useless. Plus the fact that he'll be sat in the same room as me...

Help please
~Escaped