Contents

Foreword to the 4th Edition by Rt Hon Sir Andrew McFarlane
Advocate
www.nofamilylawyer.co.uk

Introduction
PART 1: UNDERSTANDING THE SYSTEM

1. Getting The Most Out Of This Book
1.1 Introduction
1.2 How this book is put together

2. Family Breakdown – Do We Have To Sort Things Out Through The Court?
2.1 So much to think about and sort out!
2.2 Sorting out finances and benefits
2.3 Domestic abuse
2.4 Will I need to go to court?

3. Family Courts
3.1 Types of courts
3.2 CAFCASS

4. Lawyers, Legal Advice, Representation & Support
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Cases where you really ought to get legal advice
4.3 Solicitors
4.4 Barristers
4.5 Direct access barristers
4.6 Legal Executives
4.7 Regulation & complaints
4.8 Finding a lawyer
4.9 Choosing a lawyer
4.10 Paying for a lawyer
4.11 Can I get legal aid? How do I go about it?
4.12 Paying court fees
4.13 Free legal advice – Law Centres
4.14 Free generalist advice
4.15 Free legal advice – ‘pro bono’
4.16 Helplines
4.17 Non-legal support and assistance – McKenzie friends
4.18 Paying for help from non-lawyers
4.19 Mediation and arbitration providers
4.20 Other sorts of advice

5. Law
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Inherent Jurisdiction
5.3 Relevant Statutes
5.4 Summary of the Acts
5.5 Court rules

6. Reality Check – Your Case In Context
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Family Procedure Rules
6.3 Popular myths
6.4 Common law man and wife
6.5 Millionaire divorcees
6.6 The ostrich approach
6.7 Earning or paying for a right to contact
6.8 Right to contact with children
6.9 Innocent until proven guilty – interim protection
6.10 Prosecution for perjury or suing for defamation

PART 2: PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE

7. What To Expect At Court
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Preparing yourself
7.3 Court building
7.4 Before the hearing
7.5 The court room
7.6 The hearing itself
7.7 When might the Judge hear evidence?
7.8 Remote hearings

8. General Procedure
8.1 Introduction
8.2 The overriding objective
8.3 Before making an application – considering mediation
8.4 Making an application
8.5 Swearing documents
8.6 Service of an application
8.7 If the court thinks the application or response is hopeless
8.8 Serving and receiving documents during the case
8.9 Communicating with the other person
8.10 Communicating with the court
8.11 Applications – Part 18 & Part 19
8.12 What if one of the parties doesn’t do something they
should have?
8.13 What if one of the parties wasn’t at court for a hearing
when the order was made?
8.14 If you can’t attend a hearing – adjournments
8.15 Witness statements and evidence
8.16 Bundles
8.17 Experts
8.18 Participation Directions (Special Measures) for vulnerable
parties
8.19 Can I see the court file or get a copy of the recording of
the hearing or judgment?

9.Evidence
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Written and oral evidence
9.3 Audio or video recordings
9.4 Text messages and voicemail
9.5 Facebook
9.6 Reports
9.7 Lie detectors
9.8 News articles (print or internet)
9.9 Letters and children’s evidence
9.10 Challenging evidence
9.11 Do I have to answer that? Self-incrimination

10. Managing And Running Your Case
10.1 Legal research
10.2 Resources
10.3 Managing your paperwork
10.4 Digital working
10.5 Preparing for a hearing where the court is going to hear
evidence
10.6 Cross examination
10.7 Cross examining professional witnesses
10.8 Your own evidence
10.9 Submissions

11. Privacy And The Media In Family Cases
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Who can come into court?
11.3 Who can see the papers?
11.4 Who can be told what is in the papers or what evidence
has been given?
11.5 What counts as ‘publishing’?
11.6 What happens if someone publishes or discloses information that they shouldn’t have?
11.7 Will the court make exceptions about what information
can be published or passed on?
11.8 Will the Judge publish her judgment?
11.9 Appeals
11.10 Possible future changes

PART 3: DIVORCE, SEPARATION & FINANCES

12. The Law On Ending A Marriage Or Civil Partnership &
Financial Matters
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Divorce
12.3 Ending a same sex marriage
12.4 Civil partnership
12.5 Financial remedies and financial orders (Ancillary Relief)
12.6 Orders the court can’t make
12.7 How the court makes decisions

13. Getting Divorced, Dissolving Or Converting Your Civil Partnership
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Conversion from civil partnership to marriage
13.3 Ending your marriage or civil partnership by divorce or dissolution
13.4 Other scenarios

14. Finances For Divorcing Couples Or Civil Partners
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Sorting out the finances by agreement
14.3 Starting financial remedy proceedings
14.4 Disclosure, Form E and ‘full and frank disclosure’
14.5 Legal services orders and interim maintenance
14.6 Disposal of assets
14.7 Other paperwork to sort out before the First Directions
Appointment (FDA)
14.8 Questionnaires
14.9 Other useful information
14.10 At the First Directions Appointment (FDA)
14.11 Financial Dispute Resolution Hearing (FDR)
14.12 Private FDR
14.13 Final Hearing (The Trial)
14.14 Equality – why can’t I just have half?
14.15 A word about splitting the contents of your home
14.16 Dealing with non-disclosure
14.17 Pensions
14.18 Private detective?
14.19 Maintenance
14.20 Common practical solutions
14.21 We had an agreement – now my ex doesn’t want to stick
to it (or now I don’t want to stick to it!)
14.22 Bankruptcy

15. Finances For Separating Cohabitees
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Tenants
15.3 Owner occupiers
15.4 Disputes about ownership of property – ToLATA
15.5 Both names on the property
15.6 Written agreement
15.7 Name not on title and no written agreement
15.8 Schedule 1 Children Act 1989
15.9 Splitting the possessions

PART 4: CHILDREN
16. The Law Relating To Children
16.1 Introduction
16.2 Jurisdiction (or: can the court make an order?)
16.3 Who can apply for orders?
16.4 The structure of the Children Act 1989
16.5 The presumption of parental involvement
16.6 Orders under The Children Act
16.7 Changing terminology
16.8 Orders social services might ask for (public law orders)
16.9 Other relevant parts of the Children Act
16.10 The law on taking children abroad or away from their
home

17. Cases Relating To Children
17.1 Private law orders
17.2 Basic procedure - Child Arrangements Programme
17.3 Pilots running at the time of publication
17.4 Other things you need to know about court procedure
17.5 Parental responsibility
17.6 Some important legal points about parental responsibility
17.7 Specific issue orders and prohibited steps orders
17.8 Child arrangements orders
17.9 Allegations of domestic abuse
17.10 Welfare stage
17.11 What happens if there are admissions or findings?
17.12 Contact
17.13 Arrangements for where the children should live (AKA
‘residence’) – and parental alienation allegations
17.14 Shared care and labels
17.15 The involvement of professionals
17.16 How the welfare checklist works in practice
17.17 Change of name
17.18 Barring orders

18.International Issues, Relocation & Abduction
18.1 Jurisdiction (or: can the court make an order?) (Children)
18.2 What is Habitual Residence?
18.3 Enforcement of contact orders between signatories to the
Hague Convention
18.4 Jurisdiction within the UK (Children)
18.5 Moving around the country
18.6 Children taken or moved to unknown addresses
18.7 Child abduction
18.8 Removal from the jurisdiction – temporary
18.9 Thinking about agreeing to your children going abroad
18.10 Removal from the jurisdiction – permanent
18.11 Divorce and financial cases with a foreign element

19. When Things Go Wrong – Enforcing & Changing Child
Arrangements Orders
19.1 Introduction
19.2 Variation applications
19.3 Enforcement generally
19.4 Undertakings
19.5 Criminal standard
19.6 Enforcement orders
19.7 Committal for breach of a child arrangements or enforcement order
19.8 Child not returned home

20.Special Cases – People Other Than Parents, Kinship Care
& Assisted Reproduction
20.1 Introduction
20.2 Care proceedings
20.3 Contact
20.4 Child arrangements orders – living arrangements
20.5 Special guardianship
20.6 Fostering
20.7 Intervenors – non-accidental injury
20.8 Assisted reproduction
20.9 Intervening in financial proceedings between spouses or
civil partners

PART 5: DOMESTIC ABUSE

21.The Law Relating To Domestic Abuse
21.1 Introduction
21.2 The Domestic Abuse Act 2021
21.3 Non-molestation orders
21.4 Breach of non-molestation orders
21.5 Undertakings
21.6 Occupation orders
21.7 Breach of occupation orders
21.8 Other powers under the Family Law Act 1996
21.9 Other sorts of protective orders

22. Cases Involving Domestic Abuse
22.1 Introduction
22.2 When domestic abuse is relevant in the family court
22.3 The Harm Report and the approach to domestic abuse
22.4 Vulnerability and participation directions (AKA special measures)
22.5 Prohibition on cross examination
22.6 Fact-finding in children proceedings
22.7 Non-molestation and occupation orders
22.8 Making an application for a non-molestation or occupation order
22.9 Responding to an application
22.10 Directions the court will often make
22.11 What happens if an order is broken?
22.12 Undertakings
22.13 Pros and cons of undertakings

PART 6: AFTER JUDGMENT

23. Enforcement
23.1 Introduction
23.2 Court orders
23.3 Committal applications (including fine)
23.4 Committal on arrest
23.5 Judgment summons
23.6 Civil debt remedies
23.7 Liberty to apply
23.8 Bankruptcy

24. Costs
24.1 Introduction
24.2 Costs orders
24.3 Other types of costs orders
24.4 Enforcing costs orders

25. Challenging Decisions
25.1 Introduction
25.2 Getting a new Judge
25.3 Appeals
25.4 Rules for appeals
25.5 Permission
25.6 Where to appeal
25.7 Second appeals
25.8 Responding to an appeal
25.9 Set aside
25.10 Complaints against professionals

26. Postscript – The Future

PART 7: TOOLKIT & RESOURCES
Key To Abbreviations & Symbols
Jargon Buster
Online Resources
Table of Cases
Forms, Templates & Useful Documents
Key Law & Guidance
Index