Useful documents that can be used in court.
Useful Documents for use in Court
Children
Scott Schedule: A Scott Schedule is a table used to help the Court and the parties see clearly what allegations are being made and what the response is to each.
Scott Schedule
Exhibit cover sheet: to use with a witness statement
Exhibit Cover Sheet Template
Witness statement template: Practice Direction 22A sets out what your witness statement must look like. The template provided is based on the Practice Direction.
Witness Statement Template
Child Arrangements Programme: the forms below are used to help resolve children cases. They came into operation in February 2016 replacing an earlier set of orders (known as CAP orders).
There are two versions. One is a master version for use on a computer and the other PLCO Orders (or PLCOW in Wales) are tick box versions so the parties can select the clauses to apply before an order is drawn up.
England
PLCO A: Allocation
Wales
PLCOW A: Allocation
PLCO B: Case Management
PLCOW B: Case Management
PLCO C: Enforcement
PLCOW C: Enforcement
CAP Master Orders
CAP Master Orders (Wales)
Finance
Chronology for use in financial proceedings: the chonology provides a timeline of events in the divorce
Chronology: financial proceedings
Common phrases used in financial orders: copy, paste and adapt for your own orders. Includes wording for recitals and orders
Common Phrases: financial orders
Exhibit Cover Sheet: to use with a witness statement
Exhibit Cover Sheet Template
Income needs checklist: suggested items that you should list on your income needs in a case about finances
Income needs checklist
Sample questions for financial questionnaire: these questions will help to glean more information about the finances
Sample questions: financial questionnaire
Schedule of Assets template: helps you list your assets in finanical proceedings
Schedule of assets template
Statement of Issues template: suggestions on what you should present as the main issues in a money case
Statement of issues: finance cases
May 17, 2023
Advisory Notice by Mr Justice Peel, Judge in Charge of the Standard Orders
Family CourtFamily DivisionStandard Family Orders
I make this announcement with the authority of the President (of the Family Division).
On 18 January 2022, Mostyn J, the judge then in charge of Standard Family Orders (“SFOs”), announced a wide-ranging review of the SFOs. I continued the review after succeeding him on 26 April 2022. HHJ Hess was appointed to lead the review of the financial remedy SFOs, with the assistance of Amy Kisser and Nicholas Allen KC. HHJ Moradifar was appointed to lead the review of the children's SFOs, with the assistance of Steven Howard, Nastassia Hylton, Edward Bennett and Alexander Laing. I am enormously grateful to them all for their immense work in undertaking this exercise.
I am also grateful to Melissa Chapman of Class Legal who carried out a complete overview of formatting and layout. Class Legal produce an online package of the SFOs, which is free to access for any member of the judiciary (full time or part time) with an ejudiciary account; they can be contacted on info@classlegal.com
As part of the review process, Mostyn J announced a consultation period. A full list of those who responded is attached at Appendix A. It includes judges, barristers, solicitors and various organisations.
The significant volume of responses, combined with the detailed consideration given to the SFOs by the Standard Orders Group, has led to a number of revisions. In part, they reflect changes in law, practice and procedure. In part, they have been amended to achieve internal consistency and clarity of phraseology. Formatting and stylistic improvements have also been made.
As before, the SFOs do not have the status of “forms” under FPR Part 5. The default position is that they should be used, but parties and the court are permitted to adapt them to such extent as may be appropriate.
Among the main changes to the SFOs are:
The orders contain directions supporting the Statement on the Efficient Conduct of Financial Remedy proceedings in the Financial Remedies Court Below High Court Judge level.
The orders give a greater steer for the commissioning of SJE experts rather than sole experts, and for their reports to be considered by the court without personal attendance at the hearing.
The orders accommodate directions relevant to remote hearings and the guidance on electronic bundles.
The financial orders include additional undertakings such as (i) not applying for decree absolute/final decree until 28 days after the making of a financial order (relevant for the making of a pension sharing order); (ii) removal of Land Registry notices; and (iii) obtaining a Get.
The orders incorporate the provisions of the Divorce and Dissolution Act 2020, incorporating the new terminology for divorces – conditional order and final order in place of decree nisi and decree absolute – although retaining both options for the time being while this change takes effect.
The orders incorporate the provisions of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, including prohibition against cross examination provisions, and the appointment of a Qualified Legal Representative.
The financial orders include draft costs orders updated to reflect changes in practice and guidance on costs.
The financial orders include draft directions and substantive orders on pensions updated to reflect changes in practice and guidance in this area.
The financial orders include a free-standing draft order to accommodate the Accelerated First Appointment procedure.
The orders include a Permission to Appeal directions order.
The orders incorporate the changes to law and practice brought by the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
The orders incorporate the new required forms for cases involving committal applications.
The orders incorporate, among other updates, an updated Deprivation of Liberty order, an updated standalone Port Alert order, reference to the “Planning Together for Children Course” instead of the “Separated Parents Information Programme”, and the correct contact details for any disclosure request to NHS England.
The orders incorporate bespoke headings for the Family Court and the Family Division.
The children orders reduce significantly the use of recitals. In general, recitals now appear at the end of children orders, giving greater prominence to the body and substance of the orders.
Warning notices have been updated and made consistent.
In the children orders, there are separate orders for different stages of public law and private law proceedings, all of which have been made more streamlined.
I attach the updated House Rules which reflect the changes made.
I anticipate that a further, albeit much more limited, review of the SFOs will be undertaken during 2024 once the orders are bedded in and users have experience of them in practice. The Standard Orders group is conscious that, although the intention has always been to provide a comprehensive set of orders to which any user can reach, some of the orders are lengthy and can be time consuming for a judge to draft in a case where both parties are unrepresented. This particularly applies to private law children cases and Family Law Act injunctions. A judge with a busy list of such hearings may be required to draft several orders during the court day. The Standard Orders Group is investigating ways in which this task can be made more streamlined and quicker for judges.
APPENDIX A
Respondents to consultation:
Organisations
Our Family Wizard
Divorce Lifeline
News Media Association
Media Lawyers Association
The Official Solicitor
Association of District Judges
Resolution
FLBA
Peterborough City Council
High Court Cafcass
HMCTS
Office of the President of the Family Division
HM Tipstaff Office
Family Justice Council Experts Group
Judicial Office
Related content
Download HouseRules.May2023.docxfileHouse Rules (May 2023)18.69 kb
Download SFO-Vol-1-150523.zipfileSFO Volume 1 (zip file)2.54 mb
Download SFO-Vol-2-150523.zipfileSFO Volume 2 (zip file)4.64 mb
Template of Standard Family Orders (“SFOs”)
* New Draft Order Template for OurFamilyWizard *
Huge thanks to Alex Laing of Coram Chambers for updating our draft order language and bringing it in line with the new standard orders.
Our template is designed for private children's law proceedings, but can also feature in public children's law cases and non-molestation orders. Please find our new draft order template here: https://lnkd.in/eSYdCgs9
Alex was part of the committee that re-drafted all the standard orders for the family justice system. The new orders can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eNt7Hy2b
If you would like a Word copy of this new template or would like to see examples of how OurFamilyWizard has been included in different types of court orders then please do drop me a message!
In the Family Court Case No: [Case number]
sitting at [Court name] Order Children Act 1989
The full name(s) of the child(ren) Boy or Girl Date(s) of Birth [insert] [insert] [insert]
Before [name of judge] in private on [date]
at a [type of hearing].
The parties: The applicant is [name] represented by [name] [of counsel]
The 1st respondent is [name], the [relationship to child], represented by [name] [of counsel]
IMPORTANT NOTICES Confidentiality warnings Until the conclusion of the proceedings no person shall publish to the public at large or any section of the public without the court’s permission any material which is intended or likely to identify the child[ren] as being involved in these proceedings or an address or school as being that of the child[ren].
Any person who does so is guilty of an offence. Further, during the proceedings or after they have concluded no person shall publish information related to the proceedings including accounts of what has gone on in front of the judge, documents filed in the proceedings, transcripts or notes of evidence and submissions, and transcripts and notes of judgments (including extracts, quotations, or summaries of such documents). Any person who does so may be in contempt of court. Information related to the proceedings must not be communicated to any person other than as allowed by Rules 12.73 or 12.75 or Practice Direction 12G of the Family Procedure Rules 2010. Order 7.X:
Template OurFamilyWizard Order 2 RECITALS See Schedule THE COURT ORDERS [BY CONSENT] THAT:
1. Pursuant to section 11(7) of the Children Act 1989, it is a condition of the child arrangements order that the parties shall communicate regarding their children via OurFamilyWizard (www.ourfamilywizard.co.uk).
The parties are to sign up to the platform within 10 days of this order and include ToneMeter™ in their subscriptions. The parties shall thereafter conduct all communications regarding child arrangements and other matters relating to the children using the OurFamilyWizard platform via the app or the web browser.
2. Until [[child] turns [age] / 11.59 pm on [date]] the parties shall: (i) communicate only through the OurFamilyWizard platform unless there is a matter of an emergency regarding a child that must be acted upon in less than 24 hours. In the case of such an emergency, the subject and general content of any such communication shall be recorded by a Moment in the Journal feature; (ii) elect to receive notifications about new activity on OurFamilyWizard by email, text, or push notifications to their smart device; (iii) use the Info Bank feature to share all key information and documentary matters regarding the children, including school reports; (iv) use the Check-ins tool in the Journal to verify their location at handovers; (v) use the Calendar feature to arrange any agreed variations to the order; (vi) use the Expenses feature to record any child related expenditure outlined in this order; (vii) use the Messaging feature when information cannot be conveyed in the Calendar, Journal, Expenses, and Info Bank features; (viii) not include any third party, such as an extended family member to take part in the use of OurFamilyWizard without the consent of the other parent; (ix) provide consent to their solicitor/ family court advisor/ independent social worker/ children’s guardian/ [other family law professional] involved in the case via a professional account so that they can view their activity on the platform. 3. Each [parent/party] will be responsible for paying for their own subscription unless they qualify for a free account through the OurFamilyWizard financial hardship form. Dated [date] SCHEDULE TO ORDER Recitals 1. [Recitals]