Family Court

The family court is a blunt instrument that should only be used if all else fails or is not possible.

When people go to court they ask someone else, a judge, to decide what should happen in relation to their children. In effect, the judge is being asked to be a super parent to the parents. However, we have an adversarial system of family justice and, as often as not, going to court can escalate family conflict and make already difficult situations worse.

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CAFCASS & Social Services

CAFCASS & Social Services

CAFCASS & Social Services When is the report ordered? A Children and Family Reporter will normally be asked at the…

Change of Surname

Change of Surname

  Change of Surname Prior to the implementation of the Children Act 1989 on 14th October 1991, under section 41…

Changing who the child lives with

Changing who the child lives with

There is currently a lot of coverage of a case heard in a Bristol court, which was expected to result in…

Contact With Your Child

Contact With Your Child

  Contents Contact Denial Interim Contact Opposition to Contact Types of Contact   Contact Denial Week in and week out,…

Doctors

Doctors

What information can be accessed? Parents with parental responsibility for children under the age of 12 should be able to…

Enforcement of Orders

Enforcement of Orders

Many people find that despite having a Child Arrangements Order the other parent doesn't comply. This article covers what legal…

Family Court: Purpose and Use

Family Court: Purpose and Use

Family courts are there to assist in disputes and disagreements about what is to happen to a child. Judges are…

FNF Glossary of Legal Terms used in…

FNF Glossary of Legal Terms used in…

We have developed a glossary for the most commonly used legal terms in family courts.

Glossary of Terms in Family Proceedings

Glossary of Terms in Family Proceedings

Originally taken from https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/fjc-glossary-of-terms-in-family-proceedings.pdf

How do I go to court and…

How do I go to court and…

There are a range of application forms to use, the most common, the C100, is to commence family proceedings.

Managing Handovers

Managing Handovers

Handovers are where you are picking the kids up from your former partner to spend time with you, or when…

McKenzie Friends

McKenzie Friends

About McKenzie Friends What is a McKenzie friend? The term 'McKenzie friend', is a formally accepted legal term, incorporated in…

Myths

Myths

DRAFT Below are several examples of myths which do not apply:    The Courts are anti‐father.  If you are a…

Parental Alienation

Parental Alienation

Members of Families Need Fathers can view our Factsheet on Parental Alienation here. Here is a link to a 2017 judgement…

Parental Responsibility

Parental Responsibility

Parental responsibility (PR) in family law is a legal status derived from the Children Act 1989. You may be quite…

Schools

Schools

Separated parents can get into arguments over access to school, school reports, attendance of sports days, concerts, paying for uniforms,…

Schools and Doctors

Schools and Doctors

What information can be accessed? One of the most frequently heard complaints made by parents at FNF meetings is that…

Unmarried Fathers

Unmarried Fathers

An unmarried father has few legal rights with regard to his children unless he has Parental Responsiblity (PR). All married…

Urgent Applications

Urgent Applications

DRAFT There are some specific situations where there is extreme urgency in getting Child Arrangements in place. When these arise…

Vaccinations - the law when parents do…

Vaccinations - the law when parents do…

The issue of vaccinations (inoculations or immunisations) is one which comes up frequently where one parent does not want the…

What to ask for when you go…

What to ask for when you go…

It is important to consider what precisely you are asking the court and when to do this.