Residency Order

Hello everyone

It is my understanding that with separated families that if the parents are unable to agree on care arrangements of their children that this matter is then referred to a Family Mediation Service or Family Conflict Resolution Centre to mediate and agree upon a parenting plan (or if legalised by the Family Law Court becomes a Consent Order) however if this is not achieved then the matter will need to be taken to Family Law Court so the magistrates can arrange a Parenting Order however I am concerned as I would like to arrange a residency order of my child once he is born as it could take months for this to be arranged and baby needs to have access with XP but I am concerned that they may try to withhold DS from me thus need for residency order. Any advice or am I just at a loss with trying to obtain a residency order. . . Have appointment with a solicitor in several weeks time but just quite curious at the moment.

Thanks for any input, COBALTBLUE

Sounds like you need to talk to someone sooner just to get your head around this problem.
What about ringing Legal Aid to ask if there is someone you can talk to now, telling them you are having trouble understanding the 'rules'
All the best as you sort this out and then bring your beautiful baby into the world. :)

Thank you for the advice. I think I may need to do. . . It can a little tricky but we'll work it all out. . . Bubs will have a mummy and daddy who love him but we just need to iron out the differences re care arrangements (then I'm sure more little issues will present themselves lol)

If you are having custody arrangement issues, then don't let that new bubby out of your sight until those orders are in place. You are correct that without them, he can keep bub and you have not a leg to stand on. While bub is very very young it is best for just visit access anyway. He will be just a young baby who will only eat and sleep. Even as a married couple I have far far more to do with Phoebe than DH. He gets the occasional cuddle and changes the odd nappy - but right now its all mum. Wherever I go, she goes. His current level of input (same as all the others) can amount to 5 minutes a day. It will be a few months before he will make a difference by interacting with her.

More than enough time to get the orders in place as there really is nothing at all to be gained from fathers getting overnight or takehome custody of a newborn - everything to be gained by continuing our natural mammalian course of newborn baby sticks to mum. There is reasons for it. =)

yep unfortunately you cant do anything until the baby is actually born.

you can of course start to negotiate now, but even if you two agree on something, the court cant make it official until there is an actual child!

So your options once the baby is born are:

If you two can come to an agreement, you can file an application for consent orders with the court, as long as the court thinks the orders you have agreed to are fair they will seal them and they are binding court orders. This should take about 2-4 weeks from when you lodge the documents.

if you cant agree to something you will have to go to court. To be able to file an application with the court though you have to file a certificate that you have attempted mediation. You can do this at a government run family relationships centre which is free, but the wait is about 6-8 weeks. Or you can go to a private counsellor who will charge anywhere from $200-$400 per hour. If you both participate and cant reach agreement they will give you the certificate. If you go and the other party doesnt respond/refuses to participate they will still give you a certificate. You then file your application with the court. It will take 6-8 weeks to get your first court date and on that date not much will happen anyway, they might make some interim orders which are usually fairly basic and general and with a newborn I cant imagine they will give dad more than 2-4 hours, 2-3 times a week to start with and it will get adjourned for another 6-8 weeks at least.

hope that helps!

A Recovery Order would be issued if the child is removed from his primary carer (you). You don't necessarily need Parenting Orders to be able to recover a child that has been 'removed' or 'overheld,' but if you and the X are not particularly amicable then it's probably best to formalise the arrangements asap.

You can negotiate parenting arrangements prior to the child's birth, but nothing can be formalised by the Court until he's born. You might want to start negotiating now, given that the X might want to visit you straight after the birth, and he might have ideas of taking the baby out for a picnic within a week of his birth (it's more likely that he'll be completely overwhelmed by the whole experience of becoming a father that he's too scared to do anything).

Go see that Family Lawyer. And otherwise google the Family Relationships Centre, who can help you negotiate a parenting plan without lawyers, if that's what you'd like.

GL.

Hi everyone

Thank you for your advice. I have consulted a clinician from a Family Conflict Resolution Centre and am on a waiting list to commence negiotating a parenting plan if XP will engage otherwise we will approach the Family Law Court to determine the care arrangements for DS. I am satisified to know that the Family Conflict Resolution Centre will act in the best interests of DS as I disagree with XP's thought that he can commence overnight access when DS is three months old and my understanding from researching other cases is that overnight access may or may not occur when DS is 12 months old. It is my belief that the attachment that DS will develop with me must not be disrupted from an early age and that he must build an attachment with XP over a period of time and I believe that 12 months is appropriate for overnight access to occur for DS as he will commence building attachments with other individuals when he is over 6 months. Sadly XP's expectations are too great at this point of time and hopefully he will recognise the clinician's valuable input at the Family Conflict Resolution Centre regarding his son's best interests so we do not have to pursue this matter through the Family Law Court. I have no concerns about his ability to parent but I want DS to have the opportunity to develop as normal as possible particularly in terms of attachment as that is so significant and shapes the way he will develop psychologically. I will certainly consult legal advice in terms of obtaining a residency order.
Thank you so much for all your thoughts and advice :clap: