FAMILY LAW: Will my son stay with his dad or me?

[redditto]

I am in the process of getting a divorce and I have a 6 year old son, his dad has 2 kids from another marriage and my son and his youngest are very close. Ryan (lets call him) acts like a big brother to my child Harry, and I have been very close with Ryan in the past, as I have seen him grow up.
The family home is a 5 bedroom house, which is heavily mortgaged and if it were to e sold we would make £55,000 on the property, which would then be divided between myself and my husband. Is the court likely to order the family home be kept and give residency to my husband over my son to keep the children together? Ryan and Michael go to the same school and so there will be less disruption keeping them together to their lifestyle, and I would order a SRO (Shared Residency Order). Although I'd much prefer having Harry live with me.

My only concern is that the eldest, Michael, is 18 and very agressive, and I would like to safeguard Harry from his disruptive tenancies, might the court take this into consideration and allow my son to live with me rather than his dad and Ryan?

What, given the context, might the court order?

[FionaC]

Re: FAMILY LAW: Will my son stay with his dad or me?

Dear Redditto,

I am not sure I can answer your very clear question even with the information you give me. The starting point will be what is in Harry's best interests.

Please note that the money from the house may not have to be distributed 50/50. This is the most common starting point but lots of other factors can be taken into account including income and other assets that may change this.

I really hope you don't end up in court about Harry. The court want you as parents to reach an agreement and even if proceedings are issued you will both come under heavy pressure from the Magistrates or Judge to try to make decisions for yourselves.

Rather than court proceedings mediation might help.

Just a couple of points, I think(unless there are things you haven't told me) that Harry will spend time with both of you and so you will both need accommodation. The older half -brother's behaviour needs to be considered carefully. It is difficult to have any middle ground with child protection concerns. If he is an adult and Harry cannot be protected from his behaviour -even if it is infrequent- this could lead to an argument that Harry should not stay there at all. It is hard to argue he should just stay there less - what makes it safe on day and not the next? The step-brother's behaviour would need to be quite bad to prevent all contact.

I hope this helps! You could also check out the following website www.resolution.org.uk.

best wishes