[Solved] First Hearing

The first hearing will be to establish what you want and what your ex is opposed to…..then to see if any agreement can be reached between you…….if it looks likely you would be unable to then the judge should order a Directions hearing. This is where you will need to prepare statements and evidence to back up you requests/claims etc…

If your ex has a solicitor the judge may order them to do the bundle and you to submit your statements to them to include in the court bundle….however they may not in which case you may have to do this in which case there are a few of us here who have had to do similar.

Anyway for the first hearing I would prepare a statement of what you are looking for….keep it child focussed…best interests of the child to have regular contact with their father etc... keeping it factual and to the point.
Submit this to court and the ex’s solicitor at least a week before the hearing date (7-10days) so that the court will accept it.
Send a covering letter with it to each saying that this is being sent to the other i.e. letter to court saying you’ve sent the same to the ex’s solicitor and visa-versa.

By doing this you will at least have your side in front of the judge to read before the hearing to get an idea of what you want / what has been happening.

Don’t make it too long winded as if there is to be a directions hearing then you’ll need to do a full position statement with the evidence etc…

Take a look at the YouTube video stickys at the top of this section, there are three and one is about what to expect at the first hearing.

It is as Dad-I-d says, if you are a Litigant In Person, and the other side has a solicitor, more often than not the judge instructs the other parties solicitor to compile the bundle. There will be a date that it needs to be filed at court by and at that point the other parties solicitor will send you a copy.

If you get to this stage it is really important if you have anything that you wish to be included in the bundle such as evidence or further statements, letters etc that you liaise with the solicitor and inform them that you wish it to be included. They should invite you to add anything you feel is relevant in a timely fashion but often they don't! As an LIP the other sides solicitor will often use tactics to intimidate and undermine you.

Many thanks chaps, I have got a bundle of sorts together but this advice is great, really appreciate it.

Kind regards.

Sorry, also meant to say that I filed a position statement when i filed the papers with the Court etc. is this the statement you are referring to?

Many thanks.

Did your statement include a statement of truth within it? This will need to be added when/if you are asked by the judge to provide a position statement. You can get templates for these available here

www.thecustodyminefield.com/mobile/FamilyLawMenu.html

Try and keep the position brief - ie less than 2 pages. Keep to the point. Submit it with a statement of truth or sign this as a statement of truth. Be factual eg she prevented contacted despite a collobrative agreement and you just want to maintain a routine in the interests of the children.

At the hearing dont expect much to happen except they will request an assessment potentially by CAFCASS to interview you both about your childrens needs and issues of conflict.

Good luck