Year: 2022

A last-ditch effort to help the family of a woman with complex care needs apply for a welfare order.

Sophie* has learning disabilities and is cared for by a wide variety of medical teams who don’t always have access to her full, complex history. Her brother and his wife had been by her side for years – until recently when they found themselves being excluded from decision making. Without the couple’s familiarity with Sophie’s needs, the care home and various medical professionals were starting to make mistakes.

 

Looking for a solution, they had come across welfare orders and contacted the team at Anthony Collins Solicitors for help applying.

Tempering expectations

Before we took on the case, we wanted to make sure the clients knew just how rare a personal welfare order is. The order gives the welfare deputy such broad powers over another person’s life that it’s only granted in exceptional circumstances. Even then it’s usually granted to a parent for a child, rather than for siblings as in this case.

 

Fortunately for Mr and Mrs M, we have experience of personal welfare orders and know what is and isn’t needed in the application. After learning the full situation, we felt this case had a better-than-usual chance of success.

Gathering the evidence

A common mistake when putting together applications like this is simply providing the court with too much information to take in. The clients had years of medical history in thousands of documents. We picked out the information that the judge would need to see to make an informed decision and showed how a personal welfare order would be in Sophie’s best interests.

 

Five months later, we had passed both stages of the application and the court orders came through. The clients were delighted that they can once again act as Sophie’s voice. Now they can make decisions on her behalf, like where she should live, what medical treatment she should consent to and which activities she can do.

 

“We commend you for the work you have put into the success of this, as we were well aware that it wasn’t going to be easy.”
Client testimonial from Mr and Mrs M

 

* Client name has been changed

When a mother turned to us for support, we made sure her suffering was acknowledged.

Stigma and shame still surround domestic abuse. At Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS), we often meet people who are a shell of their former selves due to their experiences of domestic abuse. But, as we represent them and their voices are heard, we see them transform and thrive as they create a new life for themselves.

 

In one case, a mother turned to us for support after being let down by her previous solicitors. Lack of client care meant she had drafted her original statement about serious allegations against her children’s father with little guidance or input.

 

Redrafting her statement

The mother was understandably anxious about the future and the safety of her children, so the ACS team got to work right away. This involved asking the court for permission to redraft key documents and submit further witness statements. Without doing this, a fact-finding hearing wouldn’t have taken place and her allegations would have been swept under the carpet.

 

We helped the mother draft a second statement to add vital details, making sure her lived experience would be accurately put before the court. At the same time, we also juggled the divorce petition made by the father and received extensive police disclosure which included confirmation of the father pleading guilty to two charges of assault by beating perpetrated against the mother. He also pleaded guilty to two further charges of harassment – breaching a restraining order – for which he was subsequently sentenced.

 

The father denied the allegations made by the mother over and above those he plead guilty to and the process continued with a number of hearings taking place.

 

A breakthrough

In the pre-trial hearing, the father still insisted the mother wasn’t telling the truth, so a trial date was set. Due to Covid-19 and other delays, the mother had to wait seven months for this, living with the anxiety of having to provide oral evidence in court.

 

After months of overthinking and worry, the day of the fact-finding hearing arrived. However, at court, the father’s barrister informed us he was willing to admit almost all the allegations (except two) including threatening the mother with a weapon and separate threats of attacking her with acid.

Refusing to back down

The client had a big decision to make – would she go to trial for the two allegations he denied? Admitting the other allegations would be enough to protect her and her children, but she wanted the father and the court to acknowledge her experience. Even if it meant going through the gruelling process of giving evidence and being cross-examined.

 

It was only when the father faced this reality that he admitted all allegations. Perhaps he thought the mother would back down as she had in the past, but her strength to move forward revealed the truth.

A safe future for her children

Following a report from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, it was decided that the children should live with the mother. The father would only be allowed indirect contact (letters or cards) every six months.

 

Now the mother and her children are safe. Although matrimonial finances still need to be sorted, they have been able to move on and start afresh.

 

“I was willing to sit and listen to her which she appreciated. I never made any judgment. I asked her questions in a way that never made her feel criticised or minimised – sometimes there might be a reason they hadn’t disclosed certain details before. Domestic survivors want a champion – and we fight for them.”
Kadie Bennett, associate, Anthony Collins Solicitors

 

“Kadie Bennett and the team at ACS have provided the most impressive service with extremely high standards of professionalism. After being let down by my previous solicitor, I lost all faith and felt so let down. Kadie restored this faith back in me and she completely strengthened my case and achieved the end goal with outstanding results. I was able to open up to Kadie and talk freely with her about what I had been through and at no point I felt judged. The impact that it has had on me and my children has been immense, we feel a lot safer and can now lead a near-normal life. I cannot thank Kadie and her team enough for all their endless hard work and dedication for which I am forever grateful.”
Client testimonial

When his son was taken into care, Tom* had one goal – to get his child back.

Society’s stereotypes mean people make false assumptions. It’s often only when you scratch beneath the surface that you see the bigger picture. This was the case with a father called Tom.

 

Tom had a turbulent relationship with the mother of his child. Over the years, they’d been stuck in a cycle of being together and breaking up, the pair’s alcohol and drug misuse causing a rift in their relationship. There were also reports of physical and emotional abuse – Tom was wrongly accused of being the perpetrator.

 

Protecting the child

Everything came to a head when the couple decided to take their son on a day trip to Blackpool in Spring 2020. Tom and his partner had an argument, which led to Tom walking away to cool off. He later agreed to meet her back at the train station to travel home together.

 

But, when he arrived at the train station, she was nowhere to be seen. Tom soon discovered why – the police had found her heavily intoxicated with their child in tow and empty vodka bottles in the pram. Unsurprisingly the police protected their son, immediately placing him into foster care.

 

Determined to change

Tom turned to the Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS) team with one goal – to get his son back. However, despite the mother’s behaviour, it was clear everybody assumed he was the problem.

 

We sat down with Tom and explained his options moving forward. This started with knocking his bad habits on the head, including dealing with his alcohol and substance misuse and finding alternative, healthier coping mechanisms. Tom listened to our advice and turned his life around, changing his behaviour and finding a flat of his own.

 

A disappointing assessment

At the initial hearing, the local authority didn’t support returning the child to the mother and was equally unsupportive of placing the child with Tom. The social worker had taken allegations made by the mother against him at face value and discounted Tom as a carer for his son.

 

Delays due to Covid-19 meant the initial parenting assessments weren’t filed until September 2020. In the intervening period, drug and alcohol tests confirmed the mother was still abusing substances but showed Tom was clean. However, irrespective of his changes, there were concerns this was a honeymoon blip and his parenting assessment was negative. The outcome would be to place the child with family or up for adoption.

Becoming a full-time sole carer

But Tom was determined and refused to give up. He proved he was capable of the day-to-day aspects of childcare, including finding a nursery for his son so he could carry on working. The ACS team challenged the negative assessment on his behalf.

 

After reluctance on behalf of the local authority, another assessment took place. This assessment recommended that Tom Jnr was placed with his father. The result everyone was hoping for after he managed to turn his life around.

 

Tom Jnr is now living in the full-time sole care of his father and the plan is for the child to remain in his care under a Child Arrangements Order.

 

“This is one of those cases where without the experience and expertise of what you’re dealing with, you’re not going to be able to make a judgment call based on the evidence and challenge it to get the best outcome for the child.”
Paul Nursall, legal assistant, Anthony Collins Solicitors

 

*not our client’s real name