[Solved] The Family Court without a Lawyer

Thanks I went to court without a lawyer my second time round, but then had to get one, I found because my ex had one the judge was allowing her solicitor to run the show and only asking me to speak when required

https://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/how-apply-court-order-about-arrangements-your-children-without-help-lawyer

I paid the £16 for this guide . Was worth every penny I found ...

I was advised to get a barrister due to the games my ex was playing. In short she was writing the correct things in statements to the Court but was going back on her statements to myself and my solicitor as well as being abusive to my solicitor.

My advise would be to get rid of your solicitor and get a direct access barrister . They’d give you a fixed price for work and it’d work out lots cheaper . The more paper work you do yourself the more you’ll save .

yep i used same barrister for 3 round of hearings. takes lot of stress and admin work off you. i still found that ex's barrister was trying to run the show. my barrister was extremely child focused. while ex's just kept talking gibberish to the judge, about me being abusive, coercive/financial control lol. sometimes wonder do these lawyers even have a conscience. just telling blatant lies in court.

i'm due in court end of january, for variation of order. won't bother with barristers this time.

Sorry wrote on a different thread but I did end up using a direct access barrister and got Child Arrangements Order with lots written in it.

My solicitor organised the bundle for me and prepared instructions to the barrister. This was all without charge so I suspect my ex was more abusive towards my solicitor and her staff than my solicitor indicated.

Anyway just spent the first Christmas in years with my boys!

Thanks for sharing! Very useful!

one thing we have to watch out for: in video 2 the lawyer said that if one party has a lawyer, judge will ask him/her to draft the order and email it to court for approval/sealing. i have read some cases where ex's lawyer takes the mick and takes several days, even weeks to send the draft order to the court. and that way preventing the dad from seeing the child.

would be good idea to ask the judge can the order take effect right away.

I have self represented many times and been represented in between a few times. I normally instruct a solicitor when my ex is represented by barrister and solicitors that aren't child focused and play games and use the jargon. to stamp it out I appointed a solicitor to achieve results and put a stop to it. soon as I appointed a solicitor it put a stop to most of it especially them pulling up case law. not all solicitors are like this some are child focused and will work as a mediator if there are no real issues and try and achieve a result for client and whats right for children as well.

I have had many family court appearances for unbelievable stuff but have come out on top apart from periods of no contact at times

This short film looks at how to represent yourself in court about a family problem if you do not have a lawyer. It deals with the things you may be worrying about and shows you simple tips that will help you put your side as well as you can.

https://youtu.be/mwrA3Is27fg

I found this helpful ..
Also paid for the guide , think was aboht £15 . Was well worth it ...