My three-year-old son has been living with me for the past two years, but a fortnight ago my ex-girlfriend refused to bring him back. I do have parental responsibility, and I’ve been told I should apply for a residence order. Is everything stacked in favour of the mother?
It’s true to say that the courts frequently hold that younger children especially are better off with their mother. If you’d gone to court earlier to resolve the issue of where your son was to live, you may well have found that he ended up living with your ex-girlfriend if she had contested this. At this stage the court will no doubt take a dim view of her actions, but their prime concern will be the welfare of your son. If you apply for an interim residence order it’s likely that the case will be heard fairly quickly.