Bit of advice Long story short, Wife's sister is a waste of space and we have taken in her son due to her being an utter mong and could not be bothered to look after him, so wwe have taken him in this was all done legally through the courts and we now have residency order, this was over a year ago, during that time wife tried to help out sister by being supportive and suggesting ways in which to keep in touch with her son, one of these ways of keeping in touch was via Skype, this was brought up in the court as a means of communication bearing in mind that this was just a suggestion by my wife, the judge then makes it part of the legal side of the resisdency order, now as this software runs off the internet which I pay for, I have started to ramble a wee bit now, question is "Can a judge rule that I have to have the Internet and use this software as a means of communication"?.
Bit more background in the matter in case you think I am being a cnut about her sister staying in touch. In 18 months she has visited him once.

The Long story short is starting to grow legs so I will stop for now.

Probably if Skype for some reason is a good mode of communication most obvious example is if she's abroad.
Mind you you can buy a xskype mobile for £60 so not sure why it's a huge drama.

Can't really fathom what your whining about, however it's NOT ABOUT YOU, it's about the sprog and if by having skype he/she has the ability to kepp in touch with his Mam then why not?
Waste of space or not some people just don't cope very well/just not very good at being a parent, still doesn't mean they'll never be.

How often does she talk to her son via Skype? You obviously use the internet for more than just that; so what is your problem, exactly?

No he can't actually make you have and run Skype over t'inter. On the other hand he doesn't have to leave the kid with you either, but as you have Skype that helps him feel a bit more comfortable doing so.

Are you the real father? Does your wife know?

I have a different order but he/she would be concerned that there as been so little contact by mother.They would normally view it as not in the best interests of the child as it is not consistent enough.This is just my personal experience though.

Originally Posted by trecass

question is "Can a judge rule that I have to have the Internet and use this software as a means of communication"?.

Yes. A Judge can make any ruling he or she finds necessary. They are generally not stupid, whatever you may have read in the Daily Mail..

So, your sister and your wife? No chance of pictures is there?

Originally Posted by trecass

Bit of advice Long story short, Wife's sister is a waste of space and we have taken in her son due to her being an utter mong and could not be bothered to look after him, so wwe have taken him in this was all done legally through the courts and we now have residency order, this was over a year ago, during that time wife tried to help out sister by being supportive and suggesting ways in which to keep in touch with her son, one of these ways of keeping in touch was via Skype, this was brought up in the court as a means of communication bearing in mind that this was just a suggestion by my wife, the judge then makes it part of the legal side of the resisdency order, now as this software runs off the internet which I pay for, I have started to ramble a wee bit now, question is "Can a judge rule that I have to have the Internet and use this software as a means of communication"?.
Bit more background in the matter in case you think I am being a cnut about her sister staying in touch. In 18 months she has visited him once.

The Long story short is starting to grow legs so I will stop for now.

what unit is he in?

If there is provision in the body of the Residence Order for Skype to be made available for comms between the 2 then you will be in breach of the Order if you fail to provide it - the Order can therefore be challenged on review. It is unlikely however, in the circumstances you describe that you would lose Residency - the outcome would vary from Court to Court and judge to judge around the country. One judge may make an order in similar terms (ie "get Skype") another may decide that the facillitation of any form of indirect contact (eg telephone) is sufficient and change the Order on those terms. All this is presuming someone actually challenges the Order / complains of breach.

Speaking as a Family Lawyer who knows full well how much this crap would cost you, my advice is as follows - unless you qualify for legal aid and fancy a few months of ball ache - just get Skype!