Sole Residence Order?

Hi,
I am separated for about 2.5 years now.
I have 2 children. Their father was abusive towards me and as a consequence is in prison for the next 3 years. I am starting the divorce process and am not sure how to proceed in what concerns my children - because of the nature of his crime I lost all trust in him not only as a person, but also as a father.
My contact with him is null and hopefully minimal once he''s out.
I think the sole residence order is the best option, but how do I include it with the divorce application? If anyone knows about this, please give me some guidance.
Many thanks.

As your husband has a criminal conviction for DV you may be eligible for legal aid if you are on a low income.

The divorce, finances and arrangements for children are dealt with separately under different bits of legislation. Residence and contact orders have now been replaced with Child Arrangement Orders which determine where children "live" and when they have contact. So you would need to apply for the divorce and complete Form C100 for a Child Arrangement Order and pay two separate application fees. The forms, information leaflets CB1 & CB3 and a list court fess Ex50 are all available to download from the Ministry of Justice website.

If you were married the father will have Parental Responsibility which means he has equal responsibility and rights to carry out those responsibilities. As I said above a CAO determines were a child lives and when they have contact. However there is a no order principle and the courts don''t usually make a CAO unless there is a dispute about living or contact arrangements. So you need to be clear about what a Child Arrangement Order would add and how it would benefit the children.

Hi Fiona, thank you for your reply.
Before he went to prison, social services stopped him seeing the children - as a precaution.
Social services don''t have intention to let him have full access to the children, I think the idea is to have supervised contact - not supervised by me, naturally.
This is what makes a bit confusing on how to do it.
Silvia

When is he released and did social services suggest you apply for a CAO or do they intend applying for a supervision order? Strictly speaking the social services don''t make the decision. IF you or social services apply to court a judge will independently review the evidence from the social services and he/she has the final say.

Social services alerted me that he can be dangerous for the children, although I have nothing to say about his parenting. But in light of what he did to me they first advise me to stop him seeing them (they implied if I wouldn''t hey would take action) and when they closed the case (because he went to prison) they implied again what should happen. I said I don''t feel I should take any of those actions, even because I feel I am putting myself in danger and I am on the opinion that even though he was horrible to me, he was never to them and they should not stop seeing their father. I agree it should be supervised, at least until I feel more assure of his mental state, balance.

Has the father indicated he wants contact when he leaves prison? Parental Responsibility means parents have a duty to protect their children from harm so if social services have recommended supervised contact you would be justified withholding contact until the father applied to court for contact or you could apply for a Child Arrangement Order then. IF he does have a mental health problem there may be an advantage in the investigations being current at the time of contact commencing.

Hi Fiona,
he calls the children everyday and suffers a lot for being away from them. He wants contact. I say I''m not sure of his mental state, because of what he did, the crime. Can''t be someone balanced and caring. There is no medical evidence as per yer of mental health problem, although he was referred for counseling, but that does not mean he has a mental heath problem.