Guardian vs Solicitor

[whatnow]

hi, need some advice please. At court social care got an interim ICO, the plan is to rehab home. However my 2 older children were appointed a guardian just 2 days before court. he never got a chance to meet my children or myself, but after reading the paperwork ( which the social work admitted it reads alot worse than it is) decided to oppose the home rehab plan. My children are desperate to return home and have been from day 1, social care acknowledge this which is positive. I have been told the guardian might change his mind, however my barrister has suggested they get their own solicitor. So i have a couple of questions, is it best to keep the appointed guardian and hope he changes his mind? or would a solicitor be better and say what the children wanted and keep his judgement and personal opinion to himself? and if they need a solicitor i was told all this will be done through the guardian, could i get them a solicitor of my choice?
Also for my 2 younger children, as im presuming they also have this guardian, would i be allowed to get them a solicitor and pay privately for it? as the sw is saying they are too young to know where they want to live, but in every contact report they are asking to come home and asking why they cant come home. it is really hard listening to this then the sw saying they dont know where they want to be. sw says we can assume they just want a loving home where they feel secure. any help please?

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear whatnow,

Welcome back to the parents forum.

All your children are parties to the care proceedings so are entitled to have a children’s solicitor representing them and the guardian. Usually, there will be one solicitor and one guardian. However, if there is a potential conflict in what older children want and what the guardian thinks is in their best interests then the court needs to consider whether your older children should have their own separate solicitor. If it does then this will be ordered by the court. It is not just up to the guardian or any other party.

You do not say how old your older children are. However, it sounds though your barrister may think that they are old enough to make their own decisions. What your older children want is to come home. The guardian at this stage does not think it is in their best interests.
You will not have any say in which solicitors are to be instructed but I would expect the solicitors to be accredited by the law society to take instructions from and represent children.

I think it is very hopeful that the local authority is talking about rehabilitation of your children home. They will know your situation well. The guardian has only just come onto the case. Also as you say, he needs to actually see and listen to what your children are saying. The advice sheet about care proceedings details the role of the children’s guardian.

Best wishes,

Suzie

[whatnow]

hi suzie, a little confused now. In court the barrister suggested to the judge that the older boys get own solicitor. I did not hear the judge say yes or no, but outside i was told by barrister that the guardian would speak to them and decide if they would get one. I am meeting this guardian tomorrow for first time. If the boys do get their own solicitor, will the guardian still be involved? This seems pointless, if they have solicitor they dont need a guardian, its just another opinion and adding more confusion to the already complex case. Hmm..i dont know, lets see how tomorrow goes.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Hi Whatnow,

Yes I am being confusing! The guardian would still be instructed in relation to your younger children and will act in what s/he considers to be their best interests.
If the guardian assesses your older children as having the understanding needed to instruct a solicitor, then they will be able to each instruct a solicitor without the need for the current guardian or a new one to be appointed.
The court can appoint a solicitor for a child and can also be involved where there is a dispute around the role of the guardian’s assessment of a child’s competency but does not need to be in most cases.

Best wishes,

Suzie