Every stage, explained

The family court process moves through predictable stages. Here's a plain-English overview of each one — with the practical detail, drafting help and AI-assisted documents unlocked for members.

1. 1

   Before you apply

   MIAM, safeguarding, and thinking about whether court is the right route.

   Most people can't just walk into the family court — you have to attend a MIAM first, unless a specific exemption applies. Get this stage wrong and your C100 will bounce back.

   • When the MIAM requirement applies — and the 14 exemptions that let you skip it
   • Safeguarding evidence the court will expect you to have ready
   • How to build a chronology that survives the whole case

   Read the full guide 2 AI drafts for members
2. 2

   Making or responding to the C100

   The application that starts most private children law cases.

   The C100 is where most cases are won or lost before a judge ever reads them. A vague or emotive application invites push-back; a precise one gets directions in your favour at the first hearing.

   • How to phrase the order you want so the court can actually make it
   • When to file a C1A alongside — and when it will hurt your case
   • Fee remission (EX160) — who qualifies and what evidence you'll need

   Read the full guide 3 AI drafts for members
3. 3

   Safeguarding checks & Cafcass first calls

   Cafcass makes initial checks with police and children's services before FHDRA.

   Your first real conversation with Cafcass sets the tone for the entire case. It's a short phone call — and it lands in a letter the judge reads before your first hearing.

   • What Cafcass actually asks — and how to answer without derailing yourself
   • How the police / children's services checks feed into the safeguarding letter
   • Red flags that trigger a fact-finding recommendation

   Read the full guide
4. 4

   FHDRA — First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment

   The first hearing. Usually short. Focus is on narrowing the issues.

   FHDRA is short, fast and decisive. A tight two-page position statement, filed the day before, can shape directions for the rest of your case.

   • The 5-part position statement structure judges actually read
   • Interim arrangements worth agreeing to — and ones to resist
   • What to say when the judge asks 'what do you want today?'

   Read the full guide 1 AI draft for members
5. 5

   Fact-finding hearing

   The court decides whether alleged incidents happened, on the balance of probabilities.

   Findings of fact bind everything that comes after. Preparing this hearing properly is the difference between the court believing your account and it never being mentioned again.

   • How to build a Scott Schedule the judge can actually use
   • PD12J and the incidents that count — and the ones the court won't hear
   • Special measures, screens, and prohibited cross-examination (Part 3A)

   Read the full guide 3 AI drafts for members
6. 6

   Section 7 report

   A welfare report by Cafcass or the local authority.

   The Section 7 report will often carry more weight with the judge than either parent's evidence. How you present yourself — and your child's routine — decides its recommendation.

   • What the reporter is really assessing during home visits and interviews
   • How to respond if the draft report gets facts wrong
   • Why coaching a child almost always backfires

   Read the full guide
7. 7

   DRA — Dispute Resolution Appointment

   A last push to settle before a contested final hearing.

   The DRA is your last realistic chance to shape the outcome instead of leaving it to a judge. A workable proposal here often beats an imperfect judgment months later.

   • How to respond to a Section 7 report you disagree with
   • Drafting consent order recitals that actually stick
   • Reading the judge's steer — and when to accept it

   Read the full guide 2 AI drafts for members
8. 8

   Final hearing

   The court decides the outstanding issues and makes the final order.

   This is the hearing the whole case has been building towards. Preparation — not persuasion in the room — is what wins it.

   • How the welfare checklist (s.1(3)) is applied in practice
   • Giving evidence and being cross-examined without losing your case
   • Closing submissions on one side of A4

   Read the full guide 2 AI drafts for members
9. 9

   After the order — enforcement, variation, appeals

   What to do if the order isn't working, needs changing, or you want to appeal.

   The order isn't the end of the story. Breaches, changes of circumstance and appeals each have their own form, deadline and evidential bar — and getting them wrong is costly.

   • C79 enforcement: what counts as a breach — and what doesn't
   • The 21-day appeal window (N161) and when it can be extended
   • Variation on a change of circumstance — evidence the court expects

   Read the full guide 2 AI drafts for members