A Father’s Right To Be Informed About His Child
Once you have separated from the child's mother, it can be difficult to feel as though you are being kept in the loop about major things in your child's life. To stay informed about their child, it is often best for fathers to gain access to the child's medical and educational information. It is common…
An Introduction to Remote Hearings at the Family Court
Since the Coronavirus pandemic hit the UK in March 2020, things have changed throughout the country and indeed the rest of the world. In spite of the closure of many businesses and services in order to minimise the spread of the virus, the courts have been one much needed service that have remained open. Of…
Are You Or Your Children At Risk Of Abuse From Your Ex?
Whenever a relationship ends, there are bound to be hurt feelings and a lot of tension between the parties but sometimes, a relationship breaks down due to some form of abuse. If you have been in an abusive relationship and are separating from your partner, you must make sure that you take the necessary steps…
Being Denied Access
Unfortunately, during a relationship break up, it is common for one parent to deny the other parent access to see the other child. This affects not only the non resident parent, but it also affects the child who may already be struggling to accept the changes that are occuring within their family structure. If you…
Breaking News! Our Journal is Ready!
Click the image to visit the Amazon link! I am really excited to announce that we can now offer a journal for anyone who is going through family court proceedings. There is a big gap in the market for anyone trying to self-represent in family court, or indeed anyone who is just trying to stay…
Changing A Child’s Surname – What Is The Law?
Separation not only means that a child's family ends up broken, but in some cases, one of the parents will want to change the child's surname too. Whilst this may be a decision welcomed and understood by the child, often, it can be damaging to a child's identity. If you or your ex wants to…
Child Maintenance
What is Child Maintenance? Child maintenance payments are frequent payments to the resident parent by the non resident parent to assist with the maintenance of the child. The resident parent is the parent with whom the child lives with for the majority of the time whilst the non resident parent may have overnight contact with…
Ending A Relationship
The end of a relationship can bring about a range of emotions. If you have been unhappy for some time, then it may be a time of relief but if you were not the one to end things, you may be wondering what went wrong and where to go from here. If you have children…
Family Court Free or For Close To Free
Family court free or as close to free as possible is something that more and more separated parents need. The cost of living is rising and extra expenses are not affordable for many people. In addition to self representation as a Litigant in Person, you may also be able to access the family court free…
Handling Arguments Around Your Children
If you have split from your partner, it's quite normal that you will have bad feelings towards him or her. Getting along won't be easy, but when you have a child together, you've not really got a choice. Either you try to communicate effectively or you find that problems develop and that's how you end…
Help With Court Forms
When you apply to court, you will find that there are quite a number of forms to choose from. For a lot of cases, there is just 1 form that you need to apply but if your case has additional elements, such as when you don't know where your ex is or if there has…
Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Compete With Your Ex
Making the transition from seeing your child daily when you were in a relationship with the other parent to only seeing your child a few days a week or month is difficult. You may feel that your child might not remember you if they spend a lot of time apart from you or you may…
How Can North West McKenzie Friends Help You?
North West McKenzie Friends is a very small family run business. We try to offer as much free advice as possible to ensure that parents are able to access helpful information to help them to represent themselves in court. You will find sensible advice for working with the other parent as well as suggestions for…
How To Be Civil With Your Ex
Ending a relationship, especially when it has been a long one can be a difficult process for most people. Even if you are the one to end the relationship there are often very mixed emotions and this can lead to you feeling hurt or resentment towards your ex. It can be tempting to try to…
Keeping Families Together
We encourage those who come to us to keep their families together even after a breakup. Dealing with the breakdown of a relationship, no matter how long the relationship lasted for, can be a difficult process for adults. Even though it is the adults who have made the decision to separate, it is never easy…
Lies And False Allegations In A Breakup
Going through a separation can be a messy and ugly process. Not only are there negative feelings between the parties, but it can also cause one or both people to fling mud at the other person and go as far as to make false allegations about the other parent. This can be the result of…
Making Decisions Together
Even if you have split up with the child's other parent, you will always be your child's parent, just as much as the other parent is. This means that you both have a responsibility towards your child. This involves bringing up the child to be a happy and well rounded member of society and making…
Making The Most Of Your Contact Time
When you have separated from your child's other parent, it is not possible to be able to spend 100% of your time with the child. Even if you have shared or majority residency of your child, you will still have less time with your children than when you were still living with your ex in…
Preparing Your Home For Contact
Whether you've only just split up with the other parent or if you have been separated for a while, if contact is being set up between you and your child, it is vital that you get your home prepared to welcome another household member. Why Prepare Ahead? If you leave it until the last minute,…
Recovering Costs in Family Court
Is it common for one party to ask for costs to be recovered in family court? No. Family courts do not commonly issue orders for one party to pay any costs in private proceedings about children, whether it's a child arrangements order, a prohibited steps order or a specific issues order. There are a number…
Rights of the Father of an Unborn Child
We're sometimes asked what rights a man has if the child has not yet been born. The simple answer to this is that there are no rights for the father of an unborn child. Until the baby's birth is registered, the father cannot apply to court for an order and he does not have any…
Same-Sex Divorce in the UK
In the United Kingdom, the process for same-sex divorce is the same as for heterosexual divorce. The law governing divorce and dissolution of civil partnerships is the same, and same-sex couples can dissolve their marriage in the same way as heterosexual couples. To obtain a divorce in the UK, a couple must have been married…
Security in the Court
When you go to court, there are certain security protocols that must be followed. This applies to any court that you may be asked to attend so take this as a heads up. We will explain here why this is and what you can and can’t take into court with you. Hopefully this will avoid…
Support When Attending Court
When you go to court, it's a good idea to make sure that you're prepared. You don't need to have a solicitor with you and you may find that not using a colicitor may actually be beneficial. For a start, you won't have to pay extortionate fees to a solicitor to do something that you…
The Court Process For Contact Orders
When you split with your ex, it can be difficult to reach an agreement about contact with your children. If the split is acrimonious, you may find that you are being denied contact altogether or that the mother of the child doesn't offer frequent or reliable contact. As a loving father, it will be important…
The Welfare Checklist and Its Importance
In this article, we will take a look at the Welfare Checklist. Any time that a case concerning a child is brought to a courtroom, the court will always consider the best interests of the child or children involved. Whilst some believe that the parents should be listened to and their opinions and requests should…
Tips For Amicable Communication
If you want to keep your life out of court, to have happy children who feel secure and a stress free life, then you must learn the art of amicable communication with your ex. It's not easy, but when you're doing this for your children's sake, it is the most sensible options. Whilst we don't…
What Is A MIAM?
If you are thinking about going to court, you may need to attend a MIAM. If you want to know more about what a MIAM is then read on as this article has all the information you need. What Does MIAM stand for? MIAM is short for Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting. It is usually…
What is Parental Responsibility?
Maybe you've heard the phrase Parental Responsiblity in the past or perhaps you've only just heard it now that you are researching the court process. If you want to know the answer to "what is parental responsibility?" then read on as this article will address this phrase and what it means. What Is Parental Responsibility?…
What Legal Aid Is Available For Family Issues?
This article looks at the various options that may be available to you if you need help to pay legal costs in the family court. We take a look at legal aid, eligibility and what is covered as well as the evidence that you will need to support your application for legal aid. What Is…
What To Do If Your Child Becomes Injured
It is a parent's instinct to comfort their child when they are hurt or injured. If you are separated and don't spend all your time with the child, then it can be even harder when the child is injured whilst in the other parent's care. You may have distressed emotions when these incidents occur as…
Who Has Parental Responsibility?
Do I Have Parental Responsibility? If you are the biological mother of the child, then you will have parental responsibility automatically as soon as your baby is born. Fathers have Parental Responsibility (PR) if they are: Married to the child's mother at birth or conception Named on the birth certificate (by either registering the birth…