How To Represent Yourself in Family Court: A Step-by-Step Guide

Representation of parents in the family court has long been the preserve of solicitors and barristers. If, as a parent, you were in conflict with the mother or father of your child and could not resolve the matter, one or either of you could take the matter to court and be represented by a solicitor via obtaining legal aid, which pays for your solicitors’ fees. However, over recent years accessibility to receive legal aid has become far more restrictive, which has lead to numerous amounts of parents finding themselves ‘between a rock and a hard place.’ In that an increasing amount of parents are now in a position of either having to pay huge sums of money to their solicitor throughout the court case, or to run the risk of attempting to go it alone and represent themselves in the family court. This is the predicament now facing the vast majority of parents who are in a dispute with the other parent; are not wealthy but are not eligible to receive legal aid, and thus cannot afford to pay the level of legal costs incurred by the family court system. As a consequence an increasing number of parents who feel they have no real choice are opting to go it alone, or for ‘do-it-yourself representation.’ However, there are a host of factors that need to be considered and appreciated before deciding to take this route. For example, there are likely to be issues about your knowledge and understanding of the court process, your knowledge of the law, your skills and ability, your emotional state and the support available to you. This 100 page guide will teach the reader exactly how to represent themselves in family court.