My boyfriend pays maintenance for his six-year-old son by his former partner, and sees him once a week. He’d like him to stay with us overnight or for a weekend. Is he entitled to this? His ex-partner says the boy is too young.
As a first step your boyfriend should try attending mediation with his ex-partner; he should ask a solicitor about this. If mediation doesn’t work, then he can apply to the court for extra contact. The court approaches the issue of contact from the point of view of how much contact is in the best interests of the child. If your boyfriend does not have “parental responsibility” (which would give him the same rights as a married father) he should apply to the court for an order giving him parental responsibility at the same time.