You hope you never have to attend court to safeguard your children's best interests. If you do, you need expert advice and representation from a barrister who specialises in the law relating to Child Arrangement Orders
In this area Colette Chesters offers affordable fixed fee representation so you know exactly how much every hearing will cost you in advance. This fee will never change even if something unexpected happens at court. You can instruct Colette to represent you whatever stage you are at in the you are at in the proceedings.
The earlier you are represented the more likely you are to achieve a child arrangement order that protects your child or allows you proper and meaningful contact with your children. If the proceedings start on the ´wrong foot´ they often remain there. Colette can assist you in every step of the way starting with the completion of family court form C100 » However, before any application is made to the court you will be required to attend mediation. Or have obtained an exemption from mediation certificate.
This is the first court hearing after an application has been made to court in private family law. It is held to assist the court in identifying issues between the parties at an early stage and to see if it is possible for the parties to reach an agreement. A Cafcass Officer (cafcass.gov.uk ») should also be present.
You can set out your case in a Position Statement. This is a useful document which is not obligatory (unless ordered by the court) but can give the court a brief outline of your position in advance of the hearing. A position statement may help bring a case to an early conclusion if the other party accepts your position. It can also be used to give you a brief plan of what you want to achieve at the hearing. You should provide a copy of this statement to the other side in order to help progress the situation.
The judge (or magistrates) and the Cafcass Officer will attempt to assist the parties to reach agreement. Sometimes, there will be a mediator in the court building who might also assist the parties, and if the parties have not yet attempted mediation, the court may order that they do so before court proceedings commence.
Prior to the hearing starting, Cafcass should have prepared a 'Schedule 2 Letter' which should be shared with both parties (unless doing so would put either party or the children at risk and/or the document contains information which is sensitive of which the other party is unaware). The Schedule 2 Letter will include background checks on the parties, who the parents are and who the children live with.
If the parties can reach agreement at the FHDRA, a final order may be made setting out the details of the agreement, if the court deems it to be in the children's best interests. If the parties cannot reach agreement, the court will seek to determine the areas where they disagree and the reasons why.
The court will then consider what evidence and may be required to assist a judge or magistrates at a future hearing to decide on what is in the children's best interests.
If the case concerns contact and/or residence, and serious allegations are made, the judge may decide not to permit contact while matters are investigated. This does not mean that the court has made a final decision. The judge/magistrates and Cafcass may propose that contact be supervised and/or at a contact centre while matters are investigated. You too might suggest this in these circumstances. If there are no serious concerns, the court may order that there be contact immediately pending a final order at a future hearing (after any investigations are carried out, and evidence is submitted and heard).
menuA Judge may order a review hearing during proceedings, or once a Final Order is made. This, exactly as the name suggests, is just to review the matter. If during proceedings it is usually so that the Court can keep control of the case, ensuring that evidence is on time and that any interim contact ordered is still going ahead. Following the making of a Final Order the court may wish to leave a case open for a number of months, listing a review hearing which can be vacated if the parties agree. This hearing is intended to ensure that the Final Order is being complied with and can act as a safety net when one of the parties is particularly hostile to contact taking place. These hearings are not common, however it can sometimes be sensible to ask a Judge to leave a case open and place a clause in the Order giving you Liberty to return within a certain number of months. This means that if anything happens within that timeframe you should be able to return to court, without having to pay a further fee and have any problems arising from the implementation of the Final Order dealt with.
menuAt a Final Hearing the Judge will consider all of the available evidence, this will include evidence provided by the parties, any relevant Cafcass reports and information that has been provided by the Local Authority if applicable. The judge will then make a final child arrangements order that will permanently continue until some intervening event (like the child/children reaching a certain age).
menuBook your free 15 minute telephone conference with Colette Chesters. Please read our section on what protection is available for you once you've made your booking.