Guardianship & maintenance

gillella123

Hi all, i'm going to try & keep this short bt i really need your help.
My life is a nightmare right now because of my 5 yr olds father.
We separated when my daughter was 2. He was paying maintenance of 20 euro per week up until this year.. now it has stopped. When my daughter was 2 i started college, got my qualifications and am now working full time. my daughter is now in school and i work very hard to provide for her.. we haven't much but it's enough.
Her father sees her twice a week, but on those days its usually his mother that takes her while he works (he works part time & is on the dole). He also has a 2 year old daughter & is saving for his wedding next year. He lives with his partner & her 2 kids, & the child they have together. There is no bed in that house for my daughter so when she wants to stay in his house they have to go & spend the night in his mothers house.
i have just recieved a letter from his solicitor stating he wants to become my daugters joint legal guardian.
my question is, how likely is a judge to rule in his favour???

Morag

He is her Dad and is in her life, chances are he'll get it.

Lola92

He will most likely be granted joint guardianship. You should know though that this is separate to joint custody and access.

You should look into getting a court order for maintenance, supporting his daughter should not come second to saving for a wedding!!!

James Jones

Lola92 wrote: »

He will most likely be granted joint guardianship. You should know though that this is separate to joint custody and access.

You should look into getting a court order for maintenance, supporting his daughter should not come second to saving for a wedding!!!

+1

Orion

To be honest save yourself the hassle of court and just sign the declaration with his solicitor notarising it. All it does is declare him as guardian but gives him no added rights or duties (e.g. custody or maintenance). Unless there is overpowering cause such as abuse, serious criminal convictions etc the judge will grant it anyway. There's little point in fighting guardianship.

As Lola said though, you should consider applying to the family court for a maintenance order. 20 a week is very little but that's without knowing the full circumstances. A court will look at the full picture and make an impartial decision on maintenance. It will also be an object lesson to him that he can't have his cake and eat it too.

gillella123

Thanks guys
So, if i sign it and he has joint guardianship, what does that mean with regards access & rights?
Thanks for all your help!!

January

It has absolutely no meaning with regards to access etc...

What it does is give him a say in what religion she is brought up in, which school she goes to... It also means that if you decide to emigrate he will be able to stop you if he wants to.

Orion

That's a bit simplistic. He can't just say no and that's it. But his permission will be required to take the child out of the country. This can be over-ridden by applying to the court if necessary.

As for education/religion he doesn't have to explicitly agree - as in you don't need his permission to send the child to a particular school or get christened etc. However he can object if he so chooses.

It grants no access/custody/duty to pay maintenance etc. They are all separate.

The point is that unless it can be proven that it's in the best interest of the child he will be granted guardianship. So in answer to the OP unless there are some overpowering reasons to deny guardianship he will be granted it.

gcgirl

I fought my ex continually over the last 5 yrs and he has not got guardianship, I had valid arguments and the judge dismissed him, the fact he is not contributing towards your daughters up brining or even the fact your daughter has to stay in his mothers and not his house is a little bit alarming