Family law: how do I go about reducing my sons contact with his father, in light of his drinking?
You should give your local Magistrates Court a ring and ask for a form from them – I think it’s a C1 form that you need. You will need to ask for a variation to the Contact Order. Stopping Contact will be viewed as a hostile act and will go against you in court. Mothers who stop contact are risking a transfer of residence being ordered as it is viewed as being ’emotionally abusive’ if you prevent the other parent from seeing the child. The Court will probably involve Cafcass and ask for them to do a full report and give recommendations as to what kind of contact should be ordered in the future. Be very careful though….more often than not, Cafcass will order an increased level of contact just to disuade the mother from objecting to contact taking place. Cafcass are generally not interested in welfare concerns – unless an accident has taken place, they will deem the father good enough to care for the child. My ex drinks and has even turned up on the doorstep smelling of beer, but I was
