How Can I Obtain a Contact Order?
Q.
How can I obtain a Contact Order when I don't have an address for my wife and children? I only know the town they live in which is 100 miles plus away.
A.
First of all, in order to be eligible for a Contact Order, you must have what’s known as Parental Responsibility, which means either that you’re listed on the birth certificates of the children as the father, or you’ve obtained a Parental Responsibility Order (see our article on Your Separated Father's Rights).
Part of Parental Responsibility is the responsibility part, which means you’re almost certainly Paying Child Support of some kind. If you don’t have your ex’s address, it will likely be via the CSA (Child Support Agency).
However, don’t despair if you don’t have an address for your ex. You can go through the courts to obtain a contact order that will allow you time with your children.
You will want to contact a lawyer first for the full procedure. However, courts tend of work on a principle called “presumption of contact”, under which they do everything possible for a father to have contact with his children.
They will want a report on whether you can meet the needs of the child during a contact period, whether there’s any chance of harm coming to the child during contact, what the child desires, as well as their emotional and educational needs.
Although that sounds like a lot, it’s reassuring to know that some 90% of all Contact Orders are granted. If there’s a hearing – and your lawyer might well be able to work out an agreement with your ex’s lawyer so a hearing is unnecessary – then there will need to be a report from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service officer, and interview with you, your ex, and others.
It sounds involved, and it does take some time, but bear in mind that it’s really all in the interests of the children.
So the first real step is for your lawyer to petition the court to grant you a Contact Order for your children. It’s helpful if you can supply their address, but it’s not mandatory, and you’re not the only one who’s not in possession of his ex’s address.
From there the court will contact your ex, who will need a lawyer, and in the best of all possible worlds, they’ll work out an amicable arrangement.
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