Family Court Next Week and No Solicitor: Your Preparation Plan

1. Start today: read the notice and the latest order

If your Family Court hearing is next week and you have no solicitor, start with the hearing notice and the latest order. Identify what the hearing is for, what the court has already directed and what you need the judge to decide. Then organise the documents needed for that task. Do not begin by rewriting the entire history of your relationship.

This guide focuses on parents preparing for private children proceedings in England and Wales. A final hearing, fact-finding hearing, financial remedy case or care case can require specialist preparation beyond this plan. If you need regulated representation, seek it now rather than waiting until your papers feel perfect.

Create a hearing cover sheet. Write down the case number, court, date, attendance time, hearing format, time estimate and the precise hearing description. Check whether you must attend earlier for discussions and whether the hearing is in person, remote or hybrid. Use official court contact details if anything conflicts.

Find every operative direction, including relevant earlier orders. A later order may leave earlier requirements in place. Beside each task, record the paragraph, person responsible, deadline, filing destination and service requirement. Filing means providing a document to the court; service means providing it to the other people who must receive it in the required way. Doing one does not necessarily do the other.

2. Use this order-led preparation worksheet

This is a practical planning tool, not a court form or a new timetable. Put actual dates from your case in the deadline column. If a deadline is today or has passed, deal with it immediately.

Keep an honest status beside each item: done, awaiting response, overdue or uncertain. An unanswered email is not confirmation that the court has changed a direction.

3. A realistic sequence for the week before court

First: identify the urgent gaps

Gather the hearing notice, operative orders, applications, existing statements and relevant reports. List what you have and what is missing. Prioritise a missing document the judge needs over reformatting a document that is already usable. Ask the person responsible for the bundle for the current index and access arrangements.

Next: map the decisions and evidence

For each issue, make a short private note: what is agreed, what is disputed, what the source actually says and what you ask the court to do. Distinguish an allegation from an admission, professional opinion or judicial finding. Do not describe a concern as proved simply because it appears in a report.

Then: prepare the documents required for this hearing

Work from the order and applicable procedure. Check the correct document type before writing. A short statement of your position cannot repair an unmade application or turn new material into permitted evidence. If reports or papers arrive late, record when you received them and identify exactly what time or directions you need to respond fairly.

Finally: rehearse finding and explaining

Practise finding the order, key report and relevant statement pages. Say your main request aloud in a few sentences. Check travel, childcare, charging, access links, a quiet room and the means of viewing the bundle. This preparation sequence never postpones an earlier court deadline.

4. Know which document does which job

Under PD27A paragraphs 7.17–7.20, a position statement outside financial remedy proceedings is concise, hearing-specific and normally no more than three pages unless the court directs a different maximum for complexity. It must not introduce new evidence or include exhibits. Follow the applicable directions; financial remedy proceedings have a separate chapter.

Your private speaking note can be simpler: the decision requested, the main reason, the supporting page and the problem requiring directions. Keep it separate from material filed with the court.

5. Check the bundle: a document store is not a hearing bundle

PD27A, effective from 2 March 2026, governs bundles alongside case-specific directions. Ordinarily the applicant prepares it, but where an applicant is unrepresented and a respondent represented, the represented respondent ordinarily does so. HMCTS preparation requires an exceptional court direction where all parties are unrepresented and unable to prepare it: paragraphs 4.5–4.8.

Ask who is responsible; check the index, permitted contents, pagination and applicable timetable. Avoid sending a competing bundle without resolving the issue. Preserve original messages separately: the bundle is limited to relevant, necessary material, subject to directions (paragraph 5.2).

For a practical starting point, use the Judiciary’s guide for litigants in person. Do not assume an old online checklist reflects the current rules.

As an organisation exercise, use three folders: filed/served papers; originals and background records; and private preparation notes. Check filenames against dates and versions. Your own copy should let you find a cited page quickly, without altering evidence or hiding context.

6. Ask early for safety and participation arrangements

Tell the court promptly if domestic abuse, intimidation, disability, communication needs or another barrier affects participation. Explain the difficulty and the practical measure requested, such as separate waiting arrangements, breaks or a screen. Availability and the appropriate direction depend on the case; do not assume a request has been granted.

FPR Part 3A requires the court to consider participation and evidence measures. Rule 3A.2A contains a specific assumption where it is stated that a party or witness is, or risks being, a victim of domestic abuse by a person within that rule. That participation safeguard does not itself determine the disputed allegations.

In relevant child arrangements proceedings, PD12J addresses domestic abuse and harm. Identify the concern, its source, its status and why it matters to the decision. Do not feel obliged to agree unsafe arrangements simply to appear cooperative. Follow existing orders and communication restrictions. If there is immediate danger, call 999; do not wait for a consultation.

If questioning between parties is an issue, raise it early and obtain advice about the applicable prohibition and arrangements. Do not assume you will personally question the other party or that a representative will automatically be provided. Keep protected addresses and confidential contact details out of documents circulated without checking the correct safeguards.

7. What if you are late, missing evidence or unable to attend?

Identify the exact problem, the direction affected, why it happened, what you can complete and the order you need. A focused request is more useful than an unexplained mass of attachments. Keep a dated record of what you sent and any reply.

FPR 4.1(3)(a) and (c) gives the court powers, subject to the applicable rules, to extend time, including after expiry, and adjourn hearings. These are discretionary powers. The appropriate application and any relief from a sanction depend on the circumstances. Seeking a change does not itself grant permission, suspend a deadline or cancel attendance.

Do not simply stay away because you have asked for an adjournment. Follow the current notice unless the court changes it; if attendance becomes impossible, contact the court promptly and seek urgent advice. Administrative staff can explain filing arrangements but cannot decide your application or advise on the merits.

8. A worked example: turn a stack of papers into a hearing task

Hypothetical: A parent has a directions hearing next week. A report refers to missed handovers, the parent has a different account, and a witness statement deadline has passed.

The useful first task is to identify what that directions hearing can decide. The parent makes a source list identifying the report paragraph, the disputed point, the existing evidence and what further evidence may be needed. They distinguish the report’s account from any finding already made. They check the order before deciding how to seek permission or further directions.

The request might concern time to respond and the evidence the court should direct, rather than asking the judge to resolve every disputed event at a short hearing. A position statement can explain the request without attaching a fresh evidence dossier. What is appropriate depends on the notice, orders, applicable procedure and issues in that case.

The transferable lesson is to connect a concrete problem to a concrete procedural request. You do not need to reproduce your entire case history to explain why a missing record matters.

9. On the day: use a short hearing plan

• Have the hearing notice, orders, current bundle and your own concise speaking note accessible.
• Tell the usher or remote-hearing contact about any unresolved safety/access issue.
• When invited, explain what you ask the court to decide and identify the relevant pages.
• Listen to the judge’s question. If you do not understand, ask for it to be explained.
• If unfamiliar material appears, identify what you have not seen and what opportunity you need to respond.
• Before leaving, clarify the decisions, responsibilities and next deadlines. Keep your note and check the written order when received.

Do not record the hearing yourself without permission. Do not post case papers or hearing details online. Family proceedings have specific privacy and publication restrictions; the presence of an authorised reporter does not give a parent a general right to publish. Keep confidential papers out of unsuitable AI tools, and independently check any legal material you use.

10. Get the right type of help

You can represent yourself, but it is sensible to check legal aid and regulated advice early. Where the issues or hearing require it, seek an authorised solicitor or barrister. A McKenzie Friend may offer quiet assistance, notes and support, subject to the court’s control; that role carries no automatic right to speak for you or conduct litigation.

Explore JSH Law hearing preparation and McKenzie Friend support. JSH Law can help organise orders and deadlines, prepare a chronology or evidence schedule, assist with document preparation and develop a practical hearing plan within an agreed scope. A short hearing-preparation task may be useful even if your wider case is not yet organised.

Related guidance and sources

• Navigating Family Court: the wider preparation mindset
• JSH Law’s family court bundle guide
• PD27A: bundle responsibility, permitted content and position statements
• FPR Part 3A: participation and evidence
• FPR Part 4: case management powers
• PD12J: domestic abuse and harm
• Check legal aid