change in status quo - application to court

hi my wife has interim residency and i have good contact living 200miles away.

she is moving towns soon and hasnt asked the court.

the court awarded her interim residency to maintain status quo, but this will all change now.

i have kids for xmas and she wants me to return them to the new home.

i want to go to court to apply for a change of interim residency on the basis the status quo has been broken.

any advice please. I'm looking at using a C2 form. but the more contentious issue, is not returning the children when they are due to go back to the new home as I dont want to help create a new status quo.

how old are the children?
who moved in the first place?

kids are 2 and 4. not at school yet.

when we separated i took the children to live with me to relatives as wife had started relationship with man with violent history.

they lived with me for 6 weeks and i got the eldest enrolled in nursery and new gps etc. We have big support network here unlike their home town.

the local judge ordered interim residency to the mother to maintain status quo, and i reluctantly returned them.

with her moving to a new town, i see this as breaking the status quo and an opportunity to have interim residency transferred to me as it would benefit the kids more (larger support network, familiar surroundings etc).

I think you will struggle at best, and at worst, make the situation worse for yourself. The children are not in school yet (so no status quo there) and mum is the main carer and always has been - a judge has already honoured this. Do you know why she is moving? Has she been offered, for example, local authority housing in the next town? A bigger support network isn't necessarily a better support network and unless the children are at serious proven risk, removing a two year old from mum isn't something you would expect to happen. Nor a 4 year old for that matter.

Presumably the judge has ordered a CAFCASS report to look into the violence situation?

If you took the children to live with you, it's you that moved? If so, why are the children more familiar with your surroundings as opposed to mum's? Is mum still in the family home or has she moved in with the boyfriend?

I'm no expert - but have been through the courts for residence of our children which resulted in me moving 250 miles away from dad - I didn't have a new partner, however. 2 of our children were not in school at the time. Hopefully some others will add their thoughts for you soon.

mother has Personality Disorders and sees a psychiatrist, she self harms and im arguing a risk or developmental/psychological harm.

i would argue i was the main carer as she was unable to, although been doing ok in past 2-3 months.

has been offered social housing in next town.

CAFCASS and social services are involved but none have been informed, dont think shes told her solicitors either.

boyfriend has restrictions against him coming into contact with kids, so a new town will be away from prying eyes too.

MUMTOBOYS - how did you get on with your residence battle after moving away?

my situation was very different - I'm not sure comparing notes would help you. I have no psychiatric history, despite the ex's best attempts at making one up, and he played silly beggers financially and generally made my life very unpleasant in the first 12 months of our separation. He did some stuff, along with the girlfriend, which had an impact on the children - nothing huge but which when added together, just gave me enough for CAFCASS to recommend that I be 'allowed' to move. I hadn't played silly beggers with contact (quite the opposite) and I sat on my hands for 12 months trying to make things work. Eventually, following a particularly nasty incident in a car park, I decided enough was enough and asked to move. We were already in the courts as ex wanted a shared residence order ­base­d on my mental illness and violence ('cos of course, I was only mentally ill and violent during the time he would have the children!) which was really an attempt by him at stopping me moving. My life was in his part of the country, I had no real desire to move 'home' but the financial differentials, family and just an idiot of an ex who refused to mediate or do anything the easy way, finally forced the issue.

So your ex is coping OK? Is there no chance of you moving to live near her so shared residence is an option? That would mean you were on hand to support her should she struggle. If she has been offered housing, it would seem reasonable she moves as this will provide the children with stability. If she has support in place, a move to the next town shouldn't take her off the radar or does it mean moving local authority areas? Health visitors are pretty good, I think. If she registers with a new GP, it will be all on her notes and she'll be picked up pretty quickly - my health visitor wrote that my marriage had broken down in my medical records (I was pregnant at the time so was in contact with the midwives regularly so they obviously needed to know).

hmm, i see what you're saying, but the reality is I don't want live down there. all my relatives are in this area and offer a big support network - which is one of my strongest arguments, as she has no one apart from her crim drug-dealing bf and his mates.

i know it sounds harsh, but it really is a battle.

my main point is that they would have a better life with me (IMO) and go to nursery and school with cousins and have lots!! of family to socialise with. with her they stay in and dont socialise and she has no means to. I really did do everything, i took them to nursery, took them on days outs, visited family with them - she didnt.

Anyway, thats detracting from the point.

Although it might be understandable why she is moving, the reason the judge said to return the kids was to maintain status quo - i believe this change of towns undermines this, and so it should be debtated whether the kids' best interests would be with me rather than being allowed to settle into a new home/location.

Of course I appreciate that the longer the status quo exists the less likely the judge will want to upset it at the final hearing, so I dont particularly want her to establish this new home as the status quo.

So does anyone have any advice/experience of this, and the best way to deal with it?

I presume putting in an application to amend the Court Order is right, however I'm concerned at the timescale this might take.

I have said I am really considering holding on to the kids past the return date until we can go to court to address the issue - although i do understand that if my argument is lame then it will look really bad against me in the final hearing.

but at the same time I dont want her to establish a new status quo which will also lessen my chances of gaining full residence.