What can I expect

My story is a complicated one and I dont think going into the nitty gritty would be of any use.

Basically, when my wife left me she took away both of the kids and was hostile to contact. So I took it upon myself to not return them after one of the sporadic contact days she offered me. They have been living with me now for the last 12 months. They are 2 and 4 years old. I am pretty sure that she has gone through some of the process of custody through the courts. I had a visit from the police about 6 months ago checking out their condition. The police told me that they were responding to a court order that my ex had been granted but as the matter was a civil matter, they couldn't or wouldn't take the children away from an environment that was not of any welfare concern to them.
I moved home straight away.

The eldest will be going to school next year and it worries me what the future is in store for them. My ex is bound to find out where he is going to school.

My family lives in Italy, I feel like going home myself. My boys love the sun too

I am very worried what will happen to them if their lives get disrupted if my ex gets them back. She was never a good mother, she drank and she screamed at them all the time.

Please advise me

Wej,

Are there any formal residency or access orders in place regards the children? I am not familiar with child law, but I would have thought if there was a court order in place you would have been notified/involved/had some correspondence before the police arrived.

Whatever the issues between you and the childrens mother, are the childrens interests being met? I do hope someone advises you of the best way forward as this seems a rather difficult situation for the children.

Elle x

I paid no attention to any attempts on my wife's part to take me to court. I was pretty sure that if the case was heard in court, I would have lost custody of the children. There was no way I could prove to a judge what I knew to be true. That is that the children would have been very disadvantaged if they were to be sent back into her care. I lived with her, I know her temper. So I decided to ignore her, ignore the letters and basically just not be contactable. Ive heard so many bad stories about children being used by wives against their ex husbands so I decided to take the bull by the horns and not give her a chance. So far ive managed a year of peace and quiet. The kids seem to be pretty much contented and rarely ever ask about their mum. Their memories of her are bottles of wine and screaming fits. I am just worried for them should they be forced back. I gave up my career last year to look after them, I saw it as my duty.