Emergency procedures

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Notice of acting

Case number [insert number][In the principal registryORIn the [insert court location] FAMILY court]Sitting at [insert place]Notice of...

Private children—paramountcy of the child's welfare

The paramountcy principleWhen any court determines any question with respect to:•the upbringing of the child, or•the administration of the child's...

Pension attachment orders

The power to make pension attachment orders (previously referred to as earmarking orders) arises from the insertion of sections 25B–25D of the...

The no order principle

This Practice Note explains the no order principle contained in section 1(5) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). It explains when the principle...

Practice notes

Sequestration (confiscation of assets) within contempt proceedings

Sequestration is a process for dealing with a contempt of court that would be otherwise punishable by a committal under which the assets of the...

Produced in partnership with David Salter, deputy High Court judge and Recorder 9th Nov

Practice notes

Decree absolute—divorce

Online divorceWhere a divorce is proceeding via the online service note that while rules relating to divorce proceedings are generally to be found in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Application to vary, extend or discharge a non-molestation or occupation order

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

COVID-19

Practice notes

Grounds for judicial separation

Applications for judicial separation are relatively rare in practice. It may arise where the client has strong religious and or cultural reasons for...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Capitalised maintenance—Duxbury calculations

The basis of Duxbury calculationsA Duxbury calculation is an actuarial calculation designed to identify the capital sum required to meet a periodical...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Emergency prohibited steps and child arrangements orders

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

The grounds on which a marriage is void

A void marriage is one that will be treated by the court as never having taken place. The grounds on which a marriage will be void are set out in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Undefended divorce proceedings

Online divorceOn 6 May 2018 the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) launched its online divorce service nationwide for the public acting as litigants in person....

9th Nov

Practice notes

Void and voidable marriages

The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) sets out the grounds on which a marriage is void or voidable and the bars preventing the grant of a decree...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Working with counsel

Instructing counsel to advocate on a client’s behalf should be a matter of careful thought and preparation. The role of counsel is to provide...

Produced in partnership with Ursula Rice of Family First Solicitors Ltd 9th Nov

Practice notes

Child Arrangements Programme—the procedure for section 8 applications

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

COVID-19

In-house

Practice notes

Statements of truth in family proceedings

This Practice Note is impacted by the exit of the UK from the EU on 31 January 2020. This has implications for practitioners when considering an...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Amended, supplemental and further petitions

The distinction between an amended petition, a supplemental petition and a further petitionWhere it is necessary in some way to amend a petition...

9th Nov

Practice notes

The grounds on which a marriage is voidable

A decree of nullity granted after 31 July 1971 in respect of a voidable marriage operates to annul the marriage with effect from decree absolute and...

9th Nov

Practice notes

General principles—lump sum orders

This Practice Note sets out the general principles to be applied by the court when considering whether to make a lump sum order within financial...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Declarations of parentage—procedure

The procedure for an application for a declaration of parentage is governed by the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, Pt...

9th Nov

Most recent Emergency procedures content

Q&As

How can a spouse prevent the other spouse from disposing of a property (not the matrimonial home but part of the matrimonial assets), in the latter’s sole name, without their consent. Can they enter a notice or restriction at HM Land Registry?

For the purposes of this Q&A we have assumed that the context is matrimonial proceedings.Notices and restrictions may be used to afford some limited...

29th Nov

Q&As

Can a non-molestation or occupation order be obtained in order to protect an elderly wife against violence from a husband suffering from dementia? If the husband does not have capacity can the order be enforced? Are there any alternative proceedings that could be considered instead?

'A protected party' is defined under the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, 2.3(1) as a person who lacks capacity within the...

29th Nov

Q&As

A father, who has parental responsibility for the child, is subject to a non-molestation order and is concerned that further untrue allegations may be made against him and has started recording hand overs of the child at contact sessions to protect himself. The mother does not consent to either her or the child being filmed and has reported the father to the police. Is the father able to record handovers in this way?

The first step for the father is carefully to consider the wording of the non-molestation order against him. A non-molestation order is granted under...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 29th Nov

Practice notes

Procedure for an interim remedy under FPR 2010, Pt 20

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

Produced in partnership with David Salter, deputy High Court judge and Recorder 29th Nov

Practice notes

Search orders (Anton Piller)—family proceedings

BackgroundIn exceptional circumstances the court may make a search order that allows the applicant's representatives to enter the respondent's...

Produced in partnership with David Salter, deputy High Court judge and Recorder 29th Nov

Practice notes

Protection of home rights

During the course of a marriage or civil partnership where one spouse or civil partner is entitled to occupy a property by virtue of a beneficial...

29th Nov

Practice notes

Applications to restrain future dealing—MCA 1973, s 37

Great care should be taken when dealing with an application to preserve assets. An ill-conceived, badly prepared application or one that does not...

Produced in partnership with David Salter 29th Nov

Practice notes

Recognition and enforcement of protection measures

This Practice Note is impacted by the exit of the UK from the EU on 31 January 2020. This has implications for practitioners, inter alia, when...

29th Nov

Practice notes

Occupation orders

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

29th Nov

COVID-19

Practice notes

Child abduction—criminal action and electronic tagging

This Practice Note is impacted by the exit of the UK from the EU on 31 January 2020. This has implications for practitioners, inter alia, when...

29th Nov

Practice notes

Applications to set aside past dealings—MCA 1973, s 37

Setting asideWhere a party considers that the other party has disposed of assets to a third party so as to defeat their claims in financial...

Produced in partnership with David Salter, deputy High Court judge and Recorder 29th Nov

Practice notes

Application to vary, extend or discharge a non-molestation or occupation order

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

28th Nov

COVID-19

Practice notes

Stalking

StalkingThere are two offences of stalking under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (PHA 1997), stalking and stalking involving fear of violence...

28th Nov

Practice notes

Emergency prohibited steps and child arrangements orders

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

28th Nov

Practice notes

Applications under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by HMCTS, regarding proceedings in England and Wales during the coronavirus (COVID-19)...

28th Nov

Practice notes

Freezing orders (Mareva)—family proceedings

A freezing order (formerly termed a Mareva injunction or order) is an interim injunction restraining a party from disposing or dealing with...

Produced in partnership with David Salter 28th Nov

Practice notes

Procedure for an application for an occupation order

Procedure for an application for an occupation order—Covid-19In the exceptional circumstances of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic guidance has been...

28th Nov

COVID-19

Practice notes

Orders ancillary to an occupation order

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

28th Nov

Practice notes

Interim orders under FPR 2010, Pt 20

Available remediesPart 20 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010, SI 2010/2955 (FPR 2010) sets out a wide range of interim remedies that may be ordered by...

Produced in partnership with David Salter, deputy High Court judge and Recorder 28th Nov

Practice notes

The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme and domestic violence protection notices and orders

Domestic Violence Disclosure SchemeThe Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS), often known as Clare’s Law, was rolled out across England and Wales...

28th Nov