Children and Divorce Procedure

The procedure described below is based upon an application relating to the children made within divorce proceedings. However, the procedure is equally available to unmarried parents or to couples who wish to separate but who wish to have issues relating to their children decided by the Court prior to their divorce.

At the beginning of the divorce proceedings the Petitioner files a Statement of Arrangements for the children with the Court. A copy of this Statement is sent to your spouse with the Petition and they are given an opportunity to agree or comment upon the proposed arrangements.

In Family Law generally, but particularly in relation to matters affecting children, you will be given every encouragement at every stage in the proceedings to reach an agreement with your spouse.

In a very few cases it is not possible for the arrangements to be agreed. It may then be necessary to make an application to the Court to ask for a decision to be made regarding, which parent the children should live with, how much contact children should have with the parent that they do not live with or some other issue relating to the children.

As with applications relating to financial matters, it is only a minority of cases which proceed all the way to a trial.

Once the Court receives an application it will list the case for a First Appointment, approximately one month later, which you and your spouse will have to attend.

At the first appointment, you and your spouse will be asked to discuss the position in private with the Court Reporting Officer  (*CAFCASS Officer) without your Solicitors present. This is to encourage an agreement if possible. [*Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service - CAFCASS]

The Court Reporting Officer will then decide whether a report by them will be necessary.

A court report will be concerned with such issues as the wishes and feelings of the children, the suitability of your plans, the facilities available to you and any other issues that the officer thought were relevant.

Whether or not a report is required, you and your spouse would then attend, with your Solicitors, before the District Judge. The District Judge would then make a direction for a report, or not as the case may be, and make other directions for the filing of further evidence, such as statements from you, your former spouse, your partner and anyone else that the Court considers to be relevant.  Statements are usually exchanged two or three weeks after the First Appointment.

If appropriate, the Court can also order medical reports to be obtained.

We would assist you by drafting any statements that were required in support of your case and contacting those concerned in order to obtain any other evidence which might be available.

*Depending upon the complexity of the case, the Court will either set the case down for trial or direct that there should be a further directions appointment at a later date.

If there is a further directions appointment it will usually take place approximately three months later. The purpose of the further appointment is to ensure that all of the evidence required at the trial is to hand.

Sometimes the parties reach a provisional agreement at the First Appointment and the Court simply lists a further directions appointment three months later in order to see whether the agreement is working.

If no further directions appointment is required or, if the Judge is satisfied following a further directions appointment that all of the evidence is ready, the matter will be listed for trial.

The trial usually takes place approximately two or three months later depending upon the amount of time that the Court estimates that the trial will take.

We would emphasise, once again, that most cases settle by agreement either at the First Appointment or once the Court Reporting Officer has made their recommendations.

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