Fundamental principles

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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

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

Most recent Fundamental principles content

Precedents

Standard order 17.2—Final order for HFEA parental order application

In the Family Court sitting at [court name]No: [case number]Sitting at [insert place]The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 section 54The...

24th Nov

Precedents

Standard order 17.1—Directions order for HFEA parental order application

In the Family Court sitting at [court name]No: [case number]The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 section 54The Family Procedure Rules 2010...

24th Nov

Practice notes

Standard orders—parental orders

This Practice Note provides information about, and access to, parental order standard orders issued by the President of the Family Division, Sir James...

24th Nov

Practice notes

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...

21st Oct

Practice notes

Declarations of parentage—general principles

In Re G (children) (residence: same-sex partner) Baroness Hale summarised the three ways in which an individual can become a parent (at paras...

19th Oct

Q&As

The father was not included on the birth certificate of a child because he died before the child was born. There is no dispute as to parentage and the mother would like the birth certificate amended to include the deceased father. Is a declaration of parentage required, or can the birth certificate be amended by statutory declaration?

When the mother and father of a child are married there is a legal presumption that the husband is the biological father of the child. For this...

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

Q&As

A man believed he was the father of a child, and was included on the child's birth certificate (prior to December 2003). The child is now age 18, and the man has discovered via DNA testing that he is not the child’s biological father. Can he be removed from the child's birth certificate without the child's consent? Does he have parental responsibility for the child, bearing in mind that the child is age 18? Will the child be able to make any claims on the man’s estate?

In this Q&A it has been assumed that the parties were not married and there was no order or agreement as to parental responsibility.The Q&A considers...

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

Q&As

Can a court in England rely on an order from a Family Court in Hawaii declaring who the natural father is following genetic testing by a company that is approved in the US but who is not one of the approved companies in the UK?

The question of who is a parent is fundamental to a child. In Re G (Children) (FC), Baroness Hale set out that there are at least three ways in which...

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

Q&As

Have there been any reported cases where the presumption of continued parental involvement (per section 1(2A) of the Children Act 1989) has been considered in respect of a step-parent (without parental responsibility)?

Section 1(2A) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) is a relatively new provision within ChA 1989, s 1, having been inserted on 22 October 2014 by...

28th Sep

Q&As

Where DNA test results have concluded that the father of a child is not their biological father, what steps can the mother take to apply for the removal of the father’s parental responsibility?

A putative father of a child only obtains parental responsibility for that child if one of the criteria in the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) is...

Produced in partnership with Kyle Squire of 5 Pump Court 28th Sep

Practice notes

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...

27th Sep

Practice notes

The avoidance of delay—private children

The principle of avoidance of delayIn any proceedings in which any question with respect to the upbringing of a child arises, the court must have...

26th Sep

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...

25th Sep

Practice notes

The statutory checklist—Children Act 1989

Application of the checklistThe Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) contains a checklist of factors (commonly referred to as the statutory checklist or the...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Standard orders—medical treatment

This Practice Note provides information about, and access to, medical treatment standard orders issued by the President of the Family Division, Sir...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Conflicting interests and human rights

The welfare of more than one childIn situations where the welfare of two children who have conflicting interests is inextricably linked, the court...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Welfare of the child—presumption of continued parental involvement

Presumption of continued parental involvementPursuant to section 1(2A) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989), which was inserted by section 11 of the...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Welfare of the child—continued parental involvement scenarios

Presumption of continued parental involvementWhen section 11 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA 2014) came into force on 22 October 2014 it...

25th Sep