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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...

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...

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...

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

Drafting the terms of a financial consent order

This Practice Note sets out the basic principles to be applied when drafting a financial consent order including the preparation and structure of the...

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

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

Precedents

Specimen statement of issues for a first appointment—financial remedy application

In the Family Court sitting at [location][Case No]Between1[insert name] ApplicantAnd2[ insert name] RespondentStatement of issues for the First...

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 Evidence and procedure content

Practice notes

Court's case management powers—FPR 2010

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

26th Nov

COVID-19

Practice notes

Jurisdictional issues in children proceedings

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

25th 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...

25th Nov

COVID-19

In-house

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...

25th Nov

Practice notes

Preparation of court bundles in family proceedings

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

15th Oct

COVID-19

Practice notes

Evidence in private law children proceedings

Note that on 21 November 2017, the Ministry of Justice issued guidance on a police investigation into the potential manipulation of forensic...

1st Oct

Practice notes

Expert evidence in private children proceedings

This Practice Note deals with adducing expert evidence in private law children proceedings including the statutory provisions (in particular Part 25...

30th Sep

Q&As

In family proceedings, is the applicant required by the Family Procedure Rules 2010 to provide a copy of the court bundle to counsel for the respondent?

The Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955 set out the universal practice for hearings in the Family Court and the Family Division of...

29th Sep

Q&As

A child arrangements order has been made as to contact, and the address at which overnight contact will take place is set out in the recitals to the order, but not as an undertaking, nor is it referred to in the order. The non-resident parent intends to move house and live with a new partner, but the other parent will not co-operate as to the change of address for overnight contact. Can a letter be sent to the court and the other parent to advise of the change of address, on the basis that the court cannot vary a recital as opposed to an order?

The proposed course of action of sending a letter to the court and the other party of the change of address seems sensible and proportionate. However,...

Produced in partnership with Matthew Haynes of St Ives Chambers 29th Sep

Q&As

The respondent in proceedings under the Children Act 1989 is unable to attend a dispute resolution appointment because of a holiday. What is the procedure to apply to adjourn the hearing and what are the grounds for seeking an adjournment?

If a hearing has been listed in family proceedings, it can be possible for the hearing to be adjourned in circumstances whereby one party is unable to...

Produced in partnership with Tori Adams of 4 King’s Bench Walk 29th Sep

Q&As

In proceedings for a child arrangements order, is permission required from the court in order to lodge evidence or a bundle/position statement before the FHDRA if there are no directions to do so in the Notice of hearing?

Is permission required from the court in order to lodge evidence before the first hearing dispute resolution appointment (FHDRA) in the absence of...

Produced in partnership with Adreeja Chatterjee of No5 28th Sep

Q&As

Where an application has been issued by one party to vary a child arrangements order, can the other party seek an order for a change of residence of the child in those proceedings or do they have to issue a separate application?

A child arrangements order (CAO) is one made within private proceedings under section 8 of the Children Act 1989, setting out, primarily, who the...

Produced in partnership with Tori Adams of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

Q&As

In private law children proceedings, does the court have power to order a parent to undertake hair strand testing?

It is sadly often the case that in private law children proceedings, a parent seeking contact has, or is alleged to have, a problem with alcohol...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

Q&As

To what extent are the criminal convictions of the family of a party to proceedings for a child arrangements order relevant? Will a party’s association with family members who have serious criminal convictions (that do not relate to children offences or domestic abuse) be taken into account by the court? To what extent will evidence relating to the convictions of wider family members be admissible? Would be the position be different if a family member had convictions regarding domestic abuse?

Since 22 April 2014, when section 12 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA 2014) came into effect, the terms 'residence' and 'contact' have no...

28th Sep

Q&As

In private children proceedings where one party has failed to file a statement pursuant to a directions order, can an application be made for the directions order to be endorsed with a penal notice? If so, is the application made following the procedure under Part 18 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 on a Form C2?

If a party has failed to comply with a direction to file and serve a witness statement, the party awaiting the witness statement should consider where...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

Q&As

The parties to children proceedings have been ordered to provide a position statement in response to a CAFCASS report. Should the content of the statement be as in a usual position statement, or as in a witness statement?

The documentation to be filed and served in relation to an application for a child arrangements order is strictly controlled to try and avoid matters...

Produced in partnership with Maria Scotland of 5 St Andrews Hill 28th Sep

Q&As

In proceedings under the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) can a Form C1A (Allegations of harm and domestic violence (supplemental information form)) be filed after an application in Form C100 for an order under ChA 1989, s 8 has been issued? If the Form C1A is filed late, and the respondent does not respond to it, can the court draw inferences from that lack of response?

Form C100 is the form on which a party can make an application to the court for a child arrangements order, prohibited steps order or specific issue...

Produced in partnership with Tori Adams of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

Q&As

In relation to section 97(2) of the Children Act 1989, is Clayton v Clayton [2006] still authority that a prohibition on publicity does not apply post-proceedings and that to prohibit publicity after the conclusion of the proceedings, the court must make either an injunction or prohibited steps order? Does more recent case law address this issue, in particular the use of social media following private children orders?

Section 97(2) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) prohibits the publication of any material which is intended, or is likely, to identify any child...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

Q&As

Where following difficulties agreeing contact in the past the parties wish to apply for a child arrangements order (CAO) by consent providing for shared care, but leaving holidays to be decided by agreement, will the court make such an order in light of the no order principle and will the ambiguity of holiday arrangements make the court less likely to agree to an order. Will a warning notice automatically be attached to such an order made by consent?

No order principle and ambiguitySection 1(5) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) directs that a court when it is considering whether or not to make...

28th Sep

Practice notes

FPR 2010—overriding objective

This Practice Note sets out the overriding objective contained in the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010) and details the factors the court must...

28th Sep