Recently the President of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane published guidance to Judges about when they should write to children in respect of family court proceedings.
Basically, a toolkit has been written to assist Judges as regards them writing to children primarily at the end of a court case. The main purpose of the letter is to provide the child with a detailed explanation they can understand as to the reason for the final decision relating to their case.
This is a new venture which has not yet been undertaken by the family court.
The aim is to ensure that communicating with a child is placed at the centre of proceedings.
It is hoped that this will give children a clear and detailed account as to what was taken into account when decisions were made about them, and it should provide reassurance that their wishes and feelings were considered.
It is hoped that these letters will be of real and lasting value to young people who have been involved in court proceedings.
It is hoped that this practice will become the norm.
How can we help?
Louise Scott is a Senior Associate in our Family Law team, advising on divorce, dissolution of civil partnerships, finances and private children disputes.
If you would like to discuss your circumstances, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss your circumstances in more detail and give you more information about the services that our family law solicitors can provide along with details of our hourly rates and fixed fee services.
For more information or advice, please call Louise or another member of our team in Derby, Leicester or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or contact us via our online form.
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