Resources for Court Users
Representing Yourself
Representing Yourself
It can be daunting to deal with the family courts without representation. If you decide to do that then you may find the information contained at the links below useful.
Representing Yourself
Information about representing yourself can be found from the Bar Standards and .gov.uk.
Support Through Court are an organisation that can support you through the process of dealing with family court proceedings.
Witness Statements
You can find a template witness statement to complete here.
DNA Testing
If there is a disagreement between parents about who the father is, then DNA testing can help to clarify the situation. Cafcass offer a free service you can find out about here.
Public Funding for a Solicitor
To check if you can get legal aid so that you can be represented by a solicitor please click here.
Support at Court
Can I have someone in the Hearing to support me?
You can bring anyone to Court to wait with you, but there may be restrictions on who can come with you into the courtroom. Even if you do not have a supporter present during the Hearing, you may want to arrange for someone to be on hand for you to talk to once the Hearing has ended.
You may request the Court to have a supporter with you in the Hearing, and this will normally be allowed. It is best to choose someone who is not directly involved in the Case, such as an IDVA, a Support Worker or a Friend.
They must sit quietly and not speak to the Court or disrupt the Hearing. If they are in the same room as you, they can speak to you softly but not so as to distract the other people in the Hearing.
McKenzie Friend
If you do not have legal representation, you may arrange for someone of your choice to assist you with the Hearing, e.g. by taking notes and providing you with quiet advice. This person will be known as a ‘McKenzie Friend’. See the information on ‘McKenzie Friends’ here.
If you want to have a supporter or McKenzie Friend in the Hearing, you should complete and return a ‘Notice of McKenzie Friend’ form prior to the Hearing. If it is a remote hearing please tell the Court whether this person will be at the same location as you or will be joining the Hearing from a different place.
If you tell the Court you will have a McKenzie Friend with you, the Court will email a declaration which your McKenzie Friend should read before the Hearing. At the start of the Hearing, they will be asked to confirm that they have read it and agree to follow it.
IDVA / Domestic Abuse Support Worker
If you have an IDVA or Domestic Abuse Support Worker or Advocate, you may request that they come into Court with you. They can support you but will not be allowed to speak to the Court. You should notify the Court (at least 5 days prior to your hearing) that you wish to bring an IDVA or Domestic Abuse Support Worker into Court and they will put your request to the Judge or Magistrates.
Friend or Family Member
If you would like to bring a friend or family member with you for support, you may request that they come into Court with you. They can support you but will not be allowed to speak to the Court. You should notify the Court (at least 5 days prior to your hearing) that you wish to bring a supporter into Court with you and they will put your request to the Judge or Magistrates. The Judge or Magistrates may ask for the other party’s views on whether your supporter should be admitted into Court, but the decision will be taken by the Court.
Safety at Court
Introduction
This page provides information in respect of your Hearing and facilities which are available to you for assistance and guidance.
Telephone and Video Hearing
You should be notified of the format of the Hearing and sent details about how to join the Hearing in good time before the date of the Hearing. This may not be possible where a Hearing is urgent, in which case the Court will give you as much advance notice as it can.
The Court will always keep your contact details private when sending out information about a Remote Hearing.
How will my safety be protected in the Hearing?
If you are attending Court and require special facilities for your own safety, you should immediately contact the Court. Contact details for the Courts in Manchester can be found here.
The facilities which may be requested are:
- A separate waiting room/area.
- A separate entrance to the Court room.
- Screens in Court so you cannot see or be seen by the other party.
- Video link facilities so you can attend the Hearing from another room/venue.
Please speak to a member of court staff as early as possible to see which of these facilities arranged to help you.
If you ask for a screen or a video link, this will have to be approved by a Judge. The Judge may wish to speak to you and the other party at Court before making a decision.
You can find the special measures request form here.
You can also find more information about special measures in family proceedings available here.
Help in Planning Together for Children - Course
Cafcass provides a course that promotes cooperative parenting on behalf of the Minstry of Justice. A court may order that you take this free course as part of your family court proceedings. Details of the course can be found here.
Cafcass Parenting Plan
A parenting Plan is a written agreement to support a co-parenting approach that covers the practical issues for your child. It works even better if you involve your child.
A Parenting Plan can help because it shows clearly what arrangements and actions you have agreed to meet the needs of your child. Agreeing a plan can avoid you having to go to court to reach such an agreement or have arrangements ordered by the court. Agreeing a plan shows your child that you are putting them first and will always act in their best interests. Find out more about this here.
Parenting Plan
Word Version of Parenting Plan can be found here.
When is a Parenting Plan not Appropriate?
If any of the following are occurring and you do not feel safe to continue with the parenting plan, then please do not go ahead.
- Any form of domestic abuse or violence
- Any actual or attempted child abduction
- Any child abuse
- The abuse of drugs, alcohol or other substance misuse
- Any other safety or welfare concerns that place anyone at significant risk of harm.
A guide parents who are separating
Deciding what should happen to your children when you and your partner have split up can be difficult. You might not be able to agree who your children should live with, or who they should see.
The guide found by clicking here, could help you.
Making Arrangements for Children after Separation or Divorce, a guide, can be found by clicking here
The Transparency Project
The Transparency Project are a registered charity. We explain and discuss family law and family courts in England & Wales, and signpost to useful resources to help people understand the system and the law better. Find out more here.
The Road Ahead
The document attached here, which seeks to establish a broad framework for the Family Court by attempting to chart the road ahead over the next six months or more.
Co-Parenting Apps
If you’ve recently separated from your partner, you’re likely thinking about the best ways for the two of you to co-parent your children.
Most people who try co-parenting apps find them helpful, you could try any of those listed below or find your own.
https://www.ourfamilywizard.co.uk/
Help with Separation
You may find this GOV.UK website dealing with the steps you need to take if you are separating or divorcing helpful.
https://www.gov.uk/separation-divorce
You may also find the following site useful:
https://www.familylives.org.uk/advice/divorce-and-separation
Help for Children
Here are some useful links for those helping children through the family court process:
If you are a child in or leaving care you may find these links useful:
Parental Responsibility
A simple Guide to Parental Responsibility ("PR")
What is Parental Responsibility?
Parental Responsibility (PR) means all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority that a parent of a child has in relation to the child and their property by law.
Who Has PR?
A mother who gave birth to a child has PR.
A father who is named on the child's birth certificate has PR.
If a child’s parents are married or in a civil partnership with each other when the child is born, both of them automatically have PR and if two parents marry after the child is born, the father also automatically has PR.
A child's parents can agree that a father who is not named on their child's birth certificate and who have not married has PR for a child. This is called a PR agreement (see below).
The court can make an order giving a father PR for their child.
There are other circumstances whereby someone can obtain PR for a child (for example by obtaining an order from the court that a child lives with them, entering into a step-parent PR agreement).
More than one person can have PR for a child at the same time, and a person with PR does not lose it solely because another person acquires PR.
If more than one person has PR, who decides?
Except in certain specific circumstances (see below) someone with PR may act act alone in exercising that PR (see section 2(7) of the Children Act 1989).
The situations where a person with PR is not allowed to act alone with respect to the exercise of PR include the following:
- Someone who has PR for a child cannot do something which is incompatible with an order made by the Court (see section 2(8) of The Children Act 1989).
- Someone who has PR for a child cannot remove the child under the age of 16 from the United Kingdom without the consent of all PR holders, or an order from the Court - see (section 1 of the Child Abduction Act 1984). Someone who has a 'live with' order from the court for a child may remove that child from the UK without the consent of the other parent for up to one month (see section 13 of The Children Act 1989).
- Someone who has PR for a child cannot consent to adoption without the consent of all PR holders (e.g. by a step-parent or partner).
Despite the fact that many decisions can be taken by one person with PR, the Courts have made it clear that “where two parents share parental responsibility, it will be the duty of one parent to ensure that the rights of the other parent are respected, and vice versa, for the benefit of the child” (see Re W (Children) [2012] EWCA civ 999 at paragraphs 73 to 76).
Much depends on the circumstances and there are no hard and fast rules but as a guide the kinds of decisions where the Courts have said a person usually ought tell the other PR holder are as follows:
- Medical treatment in an emergency ( see A v A [2004] EWHC 142 (Fam)).
- Planned visits to a general or nurse practitioner and the reasons for this (A v A [2004] EWHC 142 (Fam)).
- Change of address within the local area that would neither disrupt contact arrangements nor require a change of school.
- Changes in living arrangements, including a change to those who are or will be living in the same household.
- Where there is a 'live with' order in relation to a child, the details of holiday arrangements and trips abroad.
The kinds of decision that are usually taken in consultation with other PR holders include things like:
- Changing a child's family name (surname). If there is a court order in force saying with whom a child would live, the consent of all PR holders is required (see section 13(1) of The Children Act 1989).
- Planned medical treatment beyond routine check-ups.
- Authorisation for absences from school (all PR holders can be held responsible for school attendance).
- Selection of and applications to schools.
- Circumcision, sterilisation or other serious medical intervention.
- Stopping prescribed medication.
- Relocation to another part of the country.
Generally a PR holder for a child does not require the other PR holder's permission to access a child's medical records or school report/records. However this can be subject to the age of the child (see 'What about the child's views?' below) or can be restricted court order.
If two or more PR holders cannot agree on an issue, they can try mediation or ask a court to make the decision. A court can make orders directing how PR is used or to resolve a specific issue relevant to the exercise of PR (e.g. which school a child should attend). Information about apply to a court can be found on other pages of this website.
What if someone has a Special Guardianship Order?
If someone has a Special Guardianship Order made by the Court, subject to the exceptions above, they can exercise PR in a way that overrides anyone else who has PR but does not have a Special Guardianship Order (see section 14C of The Children Act 1989).
More information about Special Guardianship Orders can be found here and here.
What about the child's views?
PR become less important and less decisive the older a child gets.
A child can make their own decisions when they have sufficient understanding and intelligence to be capable of making up their own mind on the matter requiring decision (Gillick v West Norfolk and Wisbech Area Health Authority [1985] UKHL 7). This includes decision about disclosing information to a parent. If, for example, a child of sufficient understanding and intelligence decides that a GP should not be told of a medical issue, then it is lawful for that information to be withheld by the GP. Likewise a child of sufficient understanding and intelligence can consent to their own medical treatment.
If a court has to make a decision about a child, the court will give more weight to a child's wishes and feelings as their understanding and intelligence increases, usually with age. Generally, it is unusual for a court to make orders with respect to children who are 16 or older.
PR ceases when a child turns 18.
Useful Links
Free Legal Help
Cafcass
Cafcass advises the family courts about the welfare of children and what is in their best interests . to find out more click the link: Cafcass
Children & Families Across Borders
Mediation
Family Time and Contact Centres
Domestic Abuse
General
Home - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
Family - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
Homepage | Children's Commissioner for England (childrenscommissioner.gov.uk)
Family Justice Young People’s Board
Coram Children's Legal Centre - Home (childrenslegalcentre.com)
Family Rights Group - Helping Families Helping Children (frg.org.uk)
Separating or divorcing: what you need to do
https://www.familylives.org.uk/advice/divorce-and-separation