[Solved] C100 completed - how to proceed.

Hi Paul

You say CAFCASS have been ordered to file a report in 17 days. Does the court paperwork say what this is? A Safeguarding Letter? Section 7? Section 37? Addendum? Ordinarily at this stage it would just be a Safeguarding Letter which would involve a brief phone call with CAFCASS prior to the hearing.

At this stage you shouldn't have permission to file any evidence and doing so before the court allow can put their backs up.

You can take a Position Statement with you on the day and provide everyone with a copy. This should be no longer than 2 pages and give a brief outline of background, why you have applied, any concerns you have, and what you would like the court to do. Keep it very brief. If you have important evidence, you can mention this in the PS and say you have it with you should the court wish to view it.

It's likely that the court will order statements of evidence from both parties and you will have a chance to file evidence with that.

How long is a piece of string? There is no normal as each case is individual. I would say on average, cases take around 6 months when CAFCASS reports are required. I don't know all the details of your case so it wouldn't be fair for me to comment or even try to predict what a court would decide for the interim. What I would say is that where possible, courts do try to get some sort of contact going when it is safe to do so.

Best of luck

The letter from the courts says an FHDRA is to take place on 6th September. That cafcass must send a safeguarding letter within 17 days and that social services are to provide a report detailing any involvement by 18th August.

Do you mean that I can provide a position statement and any evidence that I have at the FHDRA or before? What do I do about concerns of abuse that I have omitted?

Appreciated that there is no way of knowing how long things will take - just wanted to see what the norm is.

Yes, so that's a First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment.

If you re-read my post.....you can take the PS on the day. I wouldn't send it in before, wait until the day.

Don't submit evidence unless the court has asked for it as you won't have permission to do so.

The FHDRA is just about finding out who is in what position now.

If you have seen the CAFCASS or Childrens Services documents prior to the hearing, you can comment on those very briefly in your PS. Just say whether you agree or disagree and offer a brief explanation why

I just read here... http://childlawadvice.org.uk/information-pages/litigants-in-person/

"You can only file a statement if directed to by the Judge. If you wish to present further evidence you will need to ask permission of the court. The court will set a deadline for the statement of evidence to be sent to the court, to CAFCASS and to the other parties"

Sorry if I'm not understanding this - I was of the opinion that I could file a position statement, as you say, at the first hearing. But this seems to be suggesting that I need the judges permission first.

That post isn't very clear and I can see how it might confuse you.

The example in this link is for a Witness Statement, also known as a Statement of Evidence.

You don't have permission to provide this type of statement and certainly cannot submit evidence at this stage.

However, you can definitely provide a brief position statement on the day and this is very normal practice, it isn't trick advice 🙂 So long as you keep it to less than two pages and as stated in my previous two replies - stick to a very brief outline of the issues, you will be fine.

Hopefully some of our other members will confirm what I'm telling you is fact and set your mind at rest.

Hi Paul,

As a McKenzie's friend, yoda has been in far more court appearances for clients than most (if not all) on here, so has a lot of experience of both the technical and practical aspects of the court procedures. I'd be very inclined to accept the advice given as I don't think you'll get better 🙂

I must admit it's confusing - the sentence is in the position statement section and doesn't specifically say "you can only file a [statement of evidence] if directed to by a judge". I appreciate you have a lot of experience in going to court. Thank you for clarifying.

Hi Just reading your thread . Just thought I'd give you my personal time scale but from what I gather each area can have faster/slower court dates.

I live in Essex and my case is pretty straight forward just with a few the usual false allegations bull.

9weeks to first hearing- 3half months to second hearing- 6 months to final hearing. From what I've heard there can be more hearings subject to each individuals cases but I thought I'd share my timescale.

Good luck.

Thank you for the info - it gives me an idea what to expect.