BOMSHUS FATHER?

Dear Mrs Macaulay,

I am writing to you because I am having some serious issues with my child’s father. One Saturday morning he took her from my home without saying where he was going and without asking me. When I reported the matter to the police they told me there was nothing they could do. When the police tried to contact him, his phone was turned off. He returned her the following day without saying a word to me. As result of his actions I have kept her from him because I am scared something like that will happen again. He has abused me verbally, and has even threatened me with obeah. He is not supporting her financially. I have sought legal advice and the lawyer told me that it would be best to sit and talk because the court proceedings can be tedious. She made numerous attempts to have him come in to sit and talk but he has been a no show. I have been to the Resident Magistrate’s Court in Portmore twice, only to have my time wasted because they failed to open on days when court should have been in session. So now I am very confused on what my next step should be.

Thank you for your letter, the contents of which lead me to conclude that you and your daughter’s father were not and are not married and clearly you and he are not communicating with each other though you both should have a common interest in the welfare of your child. It is also clear that you have sought to regulate the position by seeking legal advice both from an attorney-at-law and also from the Family Court in Portmore.

Let me see if I can assist you because it is patently clear that this matter needs to be dealt with properly.

It is wrong for the father to just take his daughter as he did and keep her overnight without you knowing exactly where she was.

It is also wrong of you to deny him access to his child, though one can understand your anxiety about what in essence turned out to be a disappearing act by him, as he made sure that he was inaccessible.

As to his threats, you must report these to the police and you should make sure that legal action is taken against him for this. Such threats are not to be taken lightly at any time, but especially not here and now in Jamaica.

You seem to reside in Portmore and had unfortunate failures when you sought to proceed. I seriously advise you to go to the Family Court’s Office in the Resident Magistrate’s Court at Spanish Town and file your applications there. If the application is fixed for hearing in the Portmore court, at least the clerk would or ought to know that a judge of the Family Court will be sitting there on that date. Your application could also be heard in the Spanish Town Family Court.

You should apply for orders as follows:-

1. Custody, care and control of your child to you.

2. Access to the father for every other weekend commencing on Friday at a specific time and ending on Sunday at a specific time — for this, the order should also clearly state that he should pick her up from your home and return her there at the hours designated.

3. Maintenance for the child in a fixed weekly or monthly sum, and in addition thereto, one-half educational (including cost of extra-curricular activities, and extra lessons if any) and one-half medical, dental and optical expenses. It should be specified how these costs will be presented for payment to him and paid for by him.

In support of your application for maintenance, please ensure that your affidavit includes details of your child’s specific needs and the exact or closest approximate cost for them. These should include a proportion of the cost of shelter (rental or mortgage payments), utilities charges, her school uniform, general clothing and footwear, toiletries, food, transportation, lunch money and other sundry items, for example for entertainment/amusement (which is a vital necessity for a child’s development).

I have been informed by some mothers in recent times that some clerks in some court’s offices are telling them when they seek to add proportions of their rental and utility charges and sums for clothing to their children’s maintenance applications, that they cannot do so.

If this is being done, it is wrong and they must desist from telling mothers this. Where and why this idea and practice developed is beyond me. The provision of maintenance is to provide for the necessities of life for the child — shelter is certainly a necessity and so are the utility services of power, water and communication, including in this age, Internet services depending on the age of the child. These are all necessities and should be a part of the claim on behalf of the child. In addition, it is for a judge to decide whether an applicant’s particular claim should be allowed or not.

So dear mother, you must go through the tedious business of getting the court orders. This is the only way you can force the father to abide by regulated and structured access arrangements about when he can see and have residential access to his daughter. Then, if he breaches any of the orders and takes her without permission again, the police will assist you in getting her back.

Margarette May Macaulay is an attorney-at-law and a women’s and children’s rights advocate. Send questions via e-mail to[email protected]; or write to All Woman, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5. We regret we cannot provide personal responses.