Training materials

Training materials

Family law training materials

There are certain key areas of family law that are indispensable for both experienced family practitioners, and those new to family law, including trainee solicitors and paralegals. This subtopic sets out practical guidance on a range of family law topics, with introductory guidance for each area and navigational assistance to content including Practice Notes, Procedural Guides, Precedents and Forms.

See Practice Note: Family law training materials.

Family calculators

There are certain calculators available to assist family lawyers, including a child maintenance calculator, state pension calculator and legal aid calculator. Other calculators include, inter alia, retail price index (RPI) and consumer price index (CPI) calculators, a life expectancy calculator and an interest on judgment debt calculator.

See Practice Note: Family calculators.

Family flowcharts

The following flowcharts set out the steps to be taken in various family proceedings in a graphic format with links to relevant overviews, Practice Notes, precedents, procedural guides, client guides, legislation, forms and further reading links:

Divorce or civil partnership dissolution, sole application, standard case (post-DDSA 2020)—flowchart

Undefended divorce or civil partnership dissolution (pre-DDSA 2020)—flowchart

Amending an

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Latest Family News

Charging orders, interest on arrears and the application of the fixed costs regime (GH v H)

Family analysis: On the wife’s application to make an interim charging order final, the court made the order final but between doing so and sealing the order, the judge concluded that there were three aspects of his decision that needed to be elaborated on further, which were whether the court had power to make a charging order on the application of one of the parties to financial remedy proceedings to secure a debt owed to a third party (namely the parties’ daughter), whether interest had accrued on the unpaid periodical payments and whether the fixed costs regime in the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR) at CPR Part 45 in relation to the making of a final charging applied in this case. The decision has implications regarding who can apply for a charging order for a debt owed to a third party under a financial remedy order and for the recovery of costs when enforcing a financial remedy order by way of legal charge. Lottie Tyler, legal director at Weightmans LLP, considers the issues.

DAPO pilot new guidance and template orders

As part of the new measures provided for under Part 3 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, the Domestic Abuse Protection Order (DAPO) pilot commenced on 27 November 2024 initially for one year, in Greater Manchester, Croydon, Bromley and Sutton. The British Transport Police are also able to apply for a DAPO. On 27 November 2024, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Home office published new DAPO and Domestic Abuse Protection Notice (DAPN) guidance. The guidance provides information on what DAPNs and DAPOs are, how to apply for a DAPO and what it means if a DAPN or DAPO is applied for or made on behalf of a party. The guidance also sets out where a DAPO can be applied for under the pilot. DAPNs and DAPOs are only available if the perpetrator lives in a piloting area. A DAPO application can be made regardless of where the victim of domestic abuse lives, so long as the perpetrator lives in a piloting area.

Separate representation of children following final Hague Convention return decision (Re A and B (Separate Representation))

Family analysis: This case involved an application by the children (brothers, aged 12 (A) and 10 (B)) to be represented separately from their Cafcass guardian. After the making of a final return decision and the Court of Appeal’s refusal in respect of their mother’s application for permission to appeal that decision, the solicitor instructed directly by the children sought the High Court’s permission for separate representation and set aside of the final return decision. The children already had party status due to the parallel asylum proceedings. The application for A to be separately represented was refused, despite his solicitor (a ‘most experienced professional’) having assessed him as having sufficient understanding (per Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, r 16.29,) to give instructions on his own behalf. B did not yet possess such an understanding and the fact that his older brother did was immaterial. The proposed set aside application was held to be unarguable and to have no prospect of success. The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, provided helpful guidance for practitioners on separate representation applications, particularly where the relevant child’s views have been compromised by a parent’s influence. David Wilkinson, solicitor at Slater Heelis, examines the issues.

Family weekly highlights—21 November 2024

This week’s edition of Family considers the interface between property law and financial remedy in the context of bankruptcy and the role of the financial dispute resolution hearing in financial remedy proceedings. Four new flowcharts setting out the steps to be taken in applications for financial provision after overseas divorce or dissolution and applications for pension sharing orders are set out, together with details of a new webinar on AI and family law.