Family Court Support for Litigants in Person
Practical family court support when you are managing your own case
Evidence-led litigation support, document preparation, case analysis and McKenzie Friend assistance for litigants in person in family proceedings across England and Wales.
You do not have to hand over your entire case or commit to an open-ended retainer. JSH Law can help with the particular part that has become difficult — understanding what happens next, organising evidence, responding to a Cafcass report, preparing a court document or getting ready for a hearing.
Start with the problem that needs solving now.
Family proceedings rarely arrive in neat categories. You may simply know that a deadline is approaching, a report contains something you dispute, your evidence has become unmanageable, or you do not understand what the next hearing is supposed to achieve.
JSH Law provides non-reserved legal services, litigation support and McKenzie Friend assistance on a defined, task-specific basis. The aim is to make the case clearer, the evidence more usable and the next step more manageable while you remain in control of your own proceedings.
Core services
Four ways JSH Law can support your case
You do not need to know which service category applies before getting in touch. These four areas simply organise the different kinds of work JSH Law can undertake.
Service 01
Understand your case and what happens next
Family Court Navigation & Case Analysis
For cases where the procedure has become confusing, several orders or applications overlap, or you need to understand where the proceedings have reached and what needs attention now.
- reviewing court orders and procedural history;
- identifying the current issues;
- case chronologies and procedural mapping;
- C100, C2, C79 and related applications;
- directions and case-management preparation;
- identifying evidence still needed; and
- working through practical procedural options.
Service 02
Deal with Cafcass, safeguarding and professional evidence
Safeguarding, Cafcass & Professional Reports
For proceedings involving allegations of harm, domestic abuse, coercive control, Cafcass involvement, professional reports or safeguarding concerns.
- Cafcass safeguarding-letter review;
- section 7 report analysis;
- identifying factual inaccuracies and evidential gaps;
- responses to professional reports;
- domestic abuse and coercive-control evidence;
- safeguarding chronologies and schedules;
- PD12J-related preparation; and
- relevant local-authority material in private-law cases.
Service 03
Turn the case into clear, usable court documents
Court Documents, Evidence & Case Preparation
For cases where you know what happened but need help turning the relevant facts, evidence and issues into documents that are structured and easier for the court to follow.
- position statements;
- witness-statement preparation and review;
- chronologies and timelines;
- schedules of allegations or incidents;
- schedules of issues;
- court correspondence;
- application and response preparation;
- bundle and evidence organisation;
- written submissions where appropriate; and
- appeal groundwork and document preparation.
Service 04
Prepare for court and follow what is happening in the hearing
Hearing Preparation & McKenzie Friend Support
For litigants in person approaching a hearing who need to understand its purpose, identify the live issues and organise themselves and their papers properly.
- identifying the purpose of the hearing;
- working through the issues and orders sought;
- organising hearing papers;
- pre-hearing preparation calls;
- remote and in-person preparation;
- McKenzie Friend attendance where appropriate;
- moral support and detailed note-taking;
- help with case papers and quiet advice; and
- post-hearing review and next-step planning.
Common reasons people contact JSH Law
Looking for help with something specific?
You may already know exactly what you need. These pages explain some of the most frequently requested forms of support in more detail.
Cafcass Section 7 Report Help
Review the report against the evidence, identify inaccuracies, omissions, safeguarding issues and points that may need a focused response.
Section 7 report support →Evidence & Chronology Help
Turn messages, emails, reports and years of events into an evidence structure that can actually be followed and used.
Evidence and chronology support →Hearing Preparation
Understand what the hearing is for, identify the live issues, organise the key documents and prepare what you need to say.
Prepare for your hearing →Family Court Bundle Help
Organise case documents into a clear, navigable structure and identify what is genuinely relevant to the hearing.
Get bundle support →Schedule of Allegations
Structure allegations or incidents carefully around dates, conduct, supporting evidence and the relevance to the issues before the court.
Schedule of allegations help →Domestic Abuse Evidence
Organise evidence of alleged domestic abuse, coercive control or post-separation behaviour in a measured, evidential and court-focused way.
Domestic abuse evidence support →Non-Molestation Order Help
Practical preparation support where you are considering, making or responding to an application for a non-molestation order.
Non-molestation order help →Occupation Order Help
Support organising the facts, evidence and practical issues relevant to an occupation-order application or response.
Occupation order help →Financial Remedy Support
Practical litigation support for litigants in person dealing with financial remedy documents, disclosure, preparation and court process.
Financial remedy support →You do not need to know the service name
Most people arrive with a problem, not a legal-services category
You may not be thinking, “I need litigation support”. You may simply be thinking:
Matters I Can Help With is organised around those real-world problems. It covers individual family-court issues such as enforcement, contact breakdown, relocation, Cafcass involvement, evidence, hearings, appeals and complex proceedings.
Browse Matters I Can Help WithPractical litigation support
What the work can look like in practice
The work is defined around the task. Depending on what has been agreed and what material is available, support may include:
Case analysis
Reviewing the procedural history, recent orders, evidence and live issues so the case can be understood as a coherent whole.
Evidence organisation
Turning messages, emails, reports, photographs and correspondence into an organised evidential structure rather than an unmanageable archive.
Chronologies & schedules
Identifying dates, incidents, evidence sources and welfare consequences so that patterns and disputed events can be understood clearly.
Statements & position statements
Preparing focused, measured and court-appropriate written material connected to the evidence and the issues the court actually has to determine.
Cafcass & report analysis
Examining what a professional report says, what evidence appears to support it and which factual, analytical or safeguarding points may need a response.
Hearing preparation
Clarifying the purpose of the hearing, the live issues, the orders sought, the key documents and the practical points you need to be ready to address.
Applications & responses
Practical preparation support for agreed family-court applications, responses and supporting documents.
Appeal & review preparation
Organising the procedural history, relevant orders, documents and preparatory material where an appeal or procedural challenge is being considered.
Find the right route
Services, Matters or Resources?
JSH Law is deliberately organised in different ways because people arrive needing different things.
Services
Use Services when you want to understand what paid work JSH Law can undertake for you.
You are here →Matters I Can Help With
Use Matters when you know what problem is happening in your case — enforcement, Cafcass, contact breakdown, evidence, hearings, safeguarding or another specific issue.
Find your family-court issue →Free Resources
Use Resources when you want to understand the law, procedure or family-court process first before deciding whether you need paid support.
Explore free guidance →How working together works
A defined task, a clear scope and a practical next step
Tell me what is happening
Explain briefly what proceedings are ongoing, what stage the case has reached and what is causing the immediate difficulty.
Identify what matters now
We identify the immediate task rather than trying to solve every issue in the case at once.
Agree the scope and cost
If JSH Law can assist, the work, documents needed, timescale and fee are agreed before substantial paid work begins.
Prepare the case clearly
The work focuses on producing something useful: clearer evidence, better documents, stronger preparation or greater understanding of the next stage.
Clear pricing
Pay for the support you actually need
JSH Law can be instructed for a single task, an agreed block of work or court attendance. You do not need an open-ended retainer for your entire case.
For agreed non-reserved legal work, litigation support, review, research, analysis, drafting and preparation.
Where the work can be scoped clearly in advance, a fixed fee may be quoted before you commit.
For agreed McKenzie Friend court attendance, with preparation, travel, waiting or reserved time dealt with as agreed.
The total cost depends on the complexity, urgency and volume of material, particularly where several years of proceedings or evidence need reviewing.
View Full PricingSafeguarding-aware support
Complex family cases need more than generic templates
Domestic abuse, coercive control, post-separation abuse and safeguarding concerns may involve patterns of behaviour rather than one isolated event. At the same time, allegations are not findings of fact and disputed allegations must be handled carefully.
JSH Law's approach is to distinguish between what is alleged, what is evidenced, what has already been determined and what remains disputed — and then organise the material around the issues the court actually has to decide.
The aim is not to make the case louder. It is to make the relevant evidence clearer, while keeping the child's welfare, safeguarding and procedural fairness firmly in view.
Clear service boundaries
Know what JSH Law can — and cannot — take responsibility for
JSH Law Ltd provides non-reserved legal services, litigation support and McKenzie Friend assistance. JSH Law Ltd is not an SRA-authorised solicitors' firm.
If you are representing yourself, you remain the litigant in person and remain responsible for your proceedings unless a particular lawful task has expressly been agreed.
JSH Law can assist with
- legal and procedural research;
- case analysis and organisation;
- drafting and document preparation;
- evidence and chronology work;
- Cafcass and report analysis;
- practical hearing preparation;
- help with case papers;
- McKenzie Friend assistance; and
- other agreed non-reserved legal work.
JSH Law does not automatically
- go on the court record as your solicitor;
- conduct litigation on your behalf;
- sign court documents as your legal representative;
- take responsibility for a deadline simply because material has been sent;
- have an independent right to address the court or examine witnesses; or
- guarantee or promise any particular court outcome.
A litigant in person may ordinarily receive reasonable assistance from a McKenzie Friend. This can include moral support, taking notes, helping with case papers and quietly giving advice. A McKenzie Friend does not have an independent right of audience or right to conduct litigation.
Where the matter requires regulated representation, reserved legal activity or specialist assistance outside JSH Law's scope, I will say so.
Professional collaboration
Solicitor, barrister or family-support professional?
JSH Law can also discuss defined non-reserved support work, evidence organisation, research, drafting assistance and practical case preparation where another professional remains responsible for any regulated work within their own retainer.
This can be useful where a case contains a substantial volume of evidence or where a litigant in person needs practical support alongside regulated professional advice.
Professional CollaborationNot sure which service you need?
Start with the problem in front of you
You do not need to diagnose your own case or choose the correct service before contacting JSH Law. Tell me what proceedings are ongoing, what stage the case has reached and what you need help with.
A clear first step
Book a 15-Minute Consultation
If you are dealing with family court, Cafcass, safeguarding concerns, difficult evidence, a court document or an approaching hearing, you do not need to organise the entire case before asking for help.
Use the consultation to explain what is happening, identify what is most urgent and establish whether JSH Law can assist with a defined piece of work.
Please note: JSH Law provides non-reserved legal services, litigation support and McKenzie Friend assistance. It is not an SRA-authorised solicitors' firm and does not provide regulated solicitor representation or conduct litigation on your behalf. Please do not send extensive evidence or documents before your appointment unless asked to do so.
Request your consultation
Choose a convenient time and provide a brief outline of what you need help with.
Your enquiry will be handled in accordance with the JSH Law Privacy Policy .
JSH Law
Understand the issue. Organise the evidence. Prepare for what comes next.
Whether you need paid litigation support now, want to identify the particular problem in your case or need reliable information before deciding what to do, choose the route that makes sense for you.
Before instructing JSH Law, please read the Terms of Service , Privacy Policy , Disclaimer , Complaints Procedure and Safeguarding Statement .
Paid client work is governed by the applicable JSH Law Client Agreement and Terms of Business and any matter-specific Task Confirmation.