Length of SGO support plan

[Monty123]

Hi all
When we got a SGO for our two grandchildren we were given a support plan , approved by court, stating that the LA was responsible for the support for 3 years . If after that time we had moved, the relevant council we had moved to would be responsible. At the time we were thinking of moving but that has been put on the back burner for now. Seeing as we haven’t moved , is the original support plan still in effect till they are 18 from the local cs . The reason I ask is that the birth father says that the plan was valid for only 3 years and now he’s asking for a lot more contact, unsupervised and over night which we are uncomfortable with . Am I correct in assuming that the original support plan is still live and valid ?

[Robin D]

Hi Monty123 and welcome.

I think you need to dig out the original support plan and the order made by the court and check the specific wording of both. You should have been given copies, but if not, check with your solicitor if you used one.

There are so many variables here that it's difficult to advise.

The alternative is to go back to the Local Authority and ask their advice. In the meantime. They should have a SG support team.

It's entirely your call on the subject of increasing contact as you can exercise PR to the exclusion of all others. If you are uncomfortable that increasing contact is not in the best interests of the children, then you should resist it. It then falls to Dad to seek leave of the court to take the matter back to seek a ruling if he is so minded. However, my understanding is that to get leave, he would have to show their has been a significant change in circumstances. I could be wrong in that if the application is only for more contact, so please do not take that as fact.

Hopefully the FRG advisor will be able to confirm or correct the above.

Good luck ... Robin

[Monty123]

Thanks for the reply Robin.
We did call the LA and they said that it was put in so that if we didn’t comply move back then , the new LA would take over after 3 years and it would be nearer for us . They confirmed that in their eyes the plan was till they were 18 . However, the devils in the detail and this wasn’t mentioned specifically in the court papers only that they agreed with the support plan still.birth father is bashing us over the head with this saying the plan was only for the 3 years and now he can basically bully us into what he wants . Do you think we Could ask the LA to send us a letter confirming that the plan is for the full 18 yrs ? I’ve never heard of a support plan for just 3 years .

Hi Monty123 and welcome.

I think you need to dig out the original support plan and the order made by the court and check the specific wording of both. You should have been given copies, but if not, check with your solicitor if you used one.

There are so many variables here that it's difficult to advise.

The alternative is to go back to the Local Authority and ask their advice. In the meantime. They should have a SG support team.

It's entirely your call on the subject of increasing contact as you can exercise PR to the exclusion of all others. If you are uncomfortable that increasing contact is not in the best interests of the children, then you should resist it. It then falls to Dad to seek leave of the court to take the matter back to seek a ruling if he is so minded. However, my understanding is that to get leave, he would have to show their has been a significant change in circumstances. I could be wrong in that if the application is only for more contact, so please do not take that as fact.

Hopefully the FRG advisor will be able to confirm or correct the above.

Good luck ... Robin

[Robin D]

That's as good a place to start as any. They may prevaricate though, but if you don't ask, you will never know if the simple solution will work. You should perhaps put your request in writing using reverse logic. If you write and say that when you contacted them on [date], their position was that the plan was intended to last until the children were 18. Could they please confirm that in writing? That forces them to either do so, or deny in writing that is what they said. If the latter, then you have grounds for an official complaint.

Good luck ... Robin