Advantages To Representing Yourself In Court?..

[LulaBug]

...Are there any??

I am currently in the middle of a messy custody battle with my ex for full time residency of our son.

Neither of us are working right now and can't legal aid, so we're going to be representing ourselves.

I have been looking into a McKenzie Friend and even going through the CAB to be referred to the Bar Pro Bono Unit, idea's I have taken from my ex, to possibly receive help from a volunteer barrister as it were, but I am just wondering whether I should just stick with representing myself.

Does this impress the judge if you can build a solid case together on your own?

Social Services did a section 7 report in which the social worker recommended that I have full residency of my son. My ex is completely unhappy with this and is fabricating lies of epic proportion to try and make me look bad. So I'm thinking should I leave him to turn up with a team of people and turn up on my own to show that I am not afraid and have nothing to hide, or would I be sensible in doing the same, to equal the "playing field" as it were?

What are the (Dis)Advantages to representing yourself in court?

 

[missk1989]

If he has representation you should get it. The system doesnt do sympathy and pity it does logic and if his legal team puts together the better arguements (and they will have done this hundreds of times before) then he will win. Saying that if social services have made a reccomendation then that goes in your favour. I personally wouldnt take the risk.

 

[LoveCakes]

Even a student barrister would be something. Law is full of little technicalities and court etiquette that make a big difference. Plus having someone who knows what to expect will make you less nervous and more likely to perform better.

 

[laurajo24]

I would take any help you can get really. Two heads are better than one, even a student barrister will have a lot of training and information for you.

The fact that the section 7 report is in your favour is a very positive sign. The judge will almost always go with what is recommended by cafcass. They will see through his lies, they've seen it all before, especially if they're only coming to light after the report was made. Why didn't he voice these 'concerns' when he was interviewed for the report in the first place? Sounds like a complete idiot if you ask me who is digging a hole for himself!

Good luck with it all anyway x

 

[lhancock90]

I would honestly say get yourself some form of legal representation. x

 

[Eternal]

Sorry you are going through this, I'd say get legal help.

 

[Yo_Yo]

I agree-go with legal help!

 

[cookette]

Get help. I am incredibly doubt full that representing yourself has ANY benefit!!

 

[LulaBug]

OK ladies, I'll definitely look into getting that representation then.

It's been a nightmare really with my ex. He wasn't happy at all that I got overnight access to my residence and I found out he's planning on appealing the decision and refusing to obey the court order.

Any fears or doubts he had about where I live were answered by the social worker within that report and she found no reason whatsoever for Ethan to not be with me or be able to stay here.

Add to that, I've also found out that he bought a GPS tracking device in which he wanted to put into Ethan's bag so he could find out where we are at all times and listen into conversations by having the ability to call the device. I informed the social worker of this and she was very freaked out. I also contacted the police for advice and was told it goes against RIPA and if I find the device, I can take it in and prosecute him.

There is so much more, but this is just a small scratch on the surface of the stuff he's been saying and doing. He doesn't want Ethan to be with me for any longer than a few hours at a time, yet has no real reason. I'm not an abusive parent. If I was, the social worker would have found this out and she'd not have written the report that she did.

Thanks for the advice ladies

 

[Loui1001]

Given your last post I would definitely have legal representation

 

[Yo_Yo]

OK ladies, I'll definitely look into getting that representation then.

It's been a nightmare really with my ex. He wasn't happy at all that I got overnight access to my residence and I found out he's planning on appealing the decision and refusing to obey the court order.

Any fears or doubts he had about where I live were answered by the social worker within that report and she found no reason whatsoever for Ethan to not be with me or be able to stay here.

Add to that, I've also found out that he bought a GPS tracking device in which he wanted to put into Ethan's bag so he could find out where we are at all times and listen into conversations by having the ability to call the device. I informed the social worker of this and she was very freaked out. I also contacted the police for advice and was told it goes against RIPA and if I find the device, I can take it in and prosecute him.

There is so much more, but this is just a small scratch on the surface of the stuff he's been saying and doing. He doesn't want Ethan to be with me for any longer than a few hours at a time, yet has no real reason. I'm not an abusive parent. If I was, the social worker would have found this out and she'd not have written the report that she did.

Thanks for the advice ladies

A gps tracking device ?! The guy sounds a bit nuts and just a tad controlling!

 

[Ceejay123]

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[summer rain]

I have two relatives who had proper legal representation but they turned out to be incredibly useless. In one of the cases the solicitor didn't even turn up at any of the court hearings and it was one factor in that relative losing custody of her child. Another female relative whom I was helping more recently, her ex had the money for a hotshot team of solicitors, and she did initially have her own solicitor despite it costing her an arm and a leg. Her case was clearly not important to the solicitor firm though, they didn't respond to letters from the other party in a timely manner, if at all, and they made huge errors in their correspondence as well. Initially her ex wanted to deal with it out of court but he took her solicitor's incompetence as her, herself deliberately dragging her feet and so it ended up in court. My relative represented herself and in some ways this worked in her favour, because the judge appeared to have sympathy with her fighting her corner on her own. Her ex also tried to come out with some very tall tales, like all of a sudden she was supposedly a heroin addict all the time he was married to her. It backfired badly because it only backed up what she had stated in her case that he was a bully and a pathological liar, he had no proof whatsoever of his allegations too. In the end they awarded him contact something she never denied him to begin with but at a contact centre, he got bored after the first visit and never showed up again xx