Free Solicitor For Family Law

If you’re looking for a free solicitor for Family Law, let me tell you a little about myself, because I believe you have come to the right place.

Who I Am

My name is Alison Ritchie and I am a qualified solicitor, with my highest qualification being a Master of Laws (LLM). I chose to study law with the purpose of becoming a McKenzie Friend, since I noticed that a lot of friends and family were struggling to access the legal system due to extortionate solicitors fees. Although there is a reason why solicitors’ fees are high, I felt that giving families the ability to self-represent was an important thing to do. Being on a low income shouldn’t be a barrier to children having regular and meaningful contact with their parents.

I also discovered that many people just didn’t know what to expect from court, so even if they were aware that they could self-represent, the thought of attending court was putting people off.

The right thing was for me to gain qualifications to allow me to assist families in this situation – not only to apply for orders and navigate the legal system – but also as something of a coach, to give people the knowledge and understanding of the court process before they begin. Whilst I would love to be a free solicitor for family law, I still have bills to pay as well as keeping this website running. My compromise is to offer as much free guidance as possible for all who visit my website, but also very low fees for certain extra services which you would usually pay a solicitor very high fees for.

My Services

I work as a McKenzie Friend. You can find out more about McKenzie Friends here, but in a nutshell, I charge a small fee (a fraction of the cost of solicitors) to:

Support and mentor applicants and respondents throughout their family court dispute

Provide both legal (as a layperson) and non legal guidance

Assist with paperwork, such as forms, letters and statements

To help organise your paperwork and to plan your next step in your case

Assist you in any research that you may need to carry out

To remind you about any deadlines and timeframes that you need to remember. To keep track of your commitments to the court, for example frequency of direct and indirect contact.

To attend court as a McKenzie Friend, following the guidance of the court. Please see the article about McKenzie Friends for more information about this.

To help you to make notes to take into your hearing with prepared questions. answers and statements

If you have come here looking for a free solicitor for family law however, please make sure that you browse around on this site. I have done my best to ensure that there is enough information for you to familiarise yourself with the court system and to learn all about the process. This should give you all the tools that you need to go it alone, and be your own free solicitor.

Contact Me

If you would like to discuss your particular circumstances, I can offer an email consultation for free. Just use the Contact Form.

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 if you are on a low income.

Self Representing and McKenzie Friends vs Solicitor Fees

If you contact any solicitor specialising in family law, you’re likely to find that you’ll be hit quickly with mounting fees. During some research, in 2022, we found that an initial consultation with a solicitor would cost around £150 for 30 minutes, with each further 30 minutes being charged at around £100. The ballpark figure that we were given by most firms seemed to be from around £1000 for the simplest of child arrangement applications.

We know that for many people, this is simply out of their price range. But why should you have to pay out all this money just to be able to have a relationship with your children? It doesn’t sound fair to us, so we want to help you to get these costs down as much as possible.

We have tried to provide as many resources as possible for free on our website. Having said that, we have our own expenses and want to keep this website up and running. Therefore, if you would like us to assist you with your case, we are happy to do so, but we charge a small fee for our services. We believe that this is reasonable and will be far cheaper than using a solicitor.

Court Costs

We have a breakdown of all costs that you can’t avoid with the family court process to get a child arrangements order.

MIAM

In our section about the MIAM, you will find out what that is and what role it plays in the family court. Most people have to attend one of these. We found that the cost varies from firm to firm, but you have to get an official mediator, approved by the court, to carry out your MIAM, as well as signing the relevant page in your C100 Form. The cost will very, but expect to pay up to £200 for this.

Can you avoid the MIAM Fee?

In short, no. Unless you are entitled to Legal Aid, you will not be able to have this fee waived. The mediator who carries out your MIAM will be able to tell you if you qualify for legal aid.

You could avoid the MIAM altogether in exceptional circumstances, if the court agrees that a MIAM is not appropriate or necessary for your case.

Court Fees

In order to have your case heard by the court, you will need to complete the C100 form. In 2021, the cost of submitting the C100 rose to £232. If you don’t qualify for any financial assistance for filing forms with the court, this is all you will need to pay. Whether your case is over in one hearing, or if you have to attend court several times, all you will pay to the court is the cost of filing this form.

Can You Avoid The C100 Fee?

You can have court fees waived if you are on a low income. There is a threshold for single adult and couple households, and the earnings threshold changes depending on the number of financially dependant children that you have.

You can visit the official government page for this information and the form that you need to complete in order to have your court fees waived.

We hope that this has helped you. Many families are struggling financially at the moment and so we hope that finding out how to get family court free or as close to free as possible will help you to maintain a relationship with your children without falling into financial hardship as a result.

Consent Orders

If you have managed to reach an agreement outside of court about contact and residence, that’s great news, but informal agreements are often subject to change and have no legal weight. If circumstances change or tensions rise between parents, such agreements can break down easily, leaving no option for enforcement. A consent order makes such informal agreements legally binding and enforceable, giving you more stability and certainty for the future.

In other articles, we have explained that in most cases, you will need to attend a MIAM before you can apply to court. This is one of the exceptions however, so don’t arrange to meet with a mediator for this application. This step is omitted since you have already communicated with the other parent to come up with an agreement about your child(ren).

First of all, you will need to come up with a carefully structured agreement for contact and residence, To help you, these are some of the things you should consider:
- Residency – make it clear who the child(ren) should live with and when
- Contact – specify clearly who the child(ren) should have contact with and how frequently
- Flexibility – it’s a good idea to include some scope for flexibility in your arrangements for contact to allow for school holidays, trips, special occasions etc so make sure that the arrangements for contact aren’t so rigid that they won’t work.
- Terms of Contact – State how contact will take place. Where will handover take place, who will complete handover, who will travel, will travel be shared, what will happen if someone is delayed, is there to be a handover book to aid communication etc
- Travel – Any arrangements for travel overseas. Whether the non resident parent is able to take the child(ren) abroad and arrangements for handover to facilitate this.
You will need to use the C100 Form to apply for the consent order. Attach a copy of your agreement when you apply.
When you are completing your C100, you will be able to choose the option on Page 1 that asks ”Are you applying for an order to formalise an agreement (consent order)?”. You should also tick the “Yes” box for ”Additional Information Required” since you will be attaching a copy of your agreement.
Your completed C100 form should be sent to your local family court with the court fee if applicable.
There is a £215 fee to make the application but if you are on a low income, click here to find out how to apply for a partial or entire fee waiver.

Do I Need a Solicitor?

You don’t need a solicitor to write up an agreement for a consent order, however it’s a good idea to use someone who has experience in writing something like this. A solicitor would be able to help you to make sure that everything was covered and that your agreement was watertight to avoid having to go back to court at a later date if the plan isn’t working.

Alternatively, a mediator can help you to draw up a Cafcass Parenting Plan or you could do this on your own or with the help of a Mckenzie Friend.

The court will use your informal agreement to create a final consent order which will also include information about how the order should be enforced.

Going to Court

Both parties will be invited to a hearing to allow the court to check that the agreement has been fully consented to. If necessary, safeguarding checks may need to be carried out by CAFCASS.

Usually, a consent order allows you to skip a lot of the usual family court formalities since the order should be fairly straightforward to be approved by court officials. This means that the case for a consent order should be completed in a relatively short amount of time.

Having said that, there is not a guarantee that your agreement will be unchanged by the court since it will be assessed to make sure that it is in the best interests of the child(ren). If the court does not feel that it would benefit the child(ren), then the court may choose to make changes or to simply refuse the consent order.

If either party is in breach of a consent order, then this is treated as any other child arrangements order and so you would need to fill out form C79 and submit this to your local family court.

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 of reasons for this:

The threat of having to pay any costs could cause a person to choose not to apply to court since their financial situation may not allow for further costs.
Souring the relationship between parties in family court is not in the best interest of the children.
It is not in the child’s best interests to take money from the family which are there to meet the needs of the child.

Why may a court make a costs order?

These are some examples of occasions where a costs order has been made:

A parent refused to attend mediation, using their better financial position to attempt to sway the other parent to sign a shared residence order before agreeing to the mediation. The court agreed that the parent was using their financial position to their advantage to manipulate the other parent, and in the process was also ignoring CAFCASS recommendations too.

A parent had been put in a difficult position and struggled with issues with contact due to an unfounded allegation from the other parent about sexual abuse that had been found to be false.

A parent applied for a resident order although they were not in a position to safely accommodate their child’s needs and then refused to participate in an ordered drug and alcohol test or to see a clinical psychologist.

A court ordered that a party must pay for two thirds of the other parent’s costs when a fact finding hearing found that the majority of allegations made against him could be proven.

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 course, the way hearings were previously carried out has had to change to ensure that the courts are covid safe for both employees at the court and the public who use the facilities.

The way that the courts have continued to hear cases is using remote hearings which usually happens via the telephone or video conferencing. This allows anyone who still needs to use the services of the family court to have their case heard fairly as before, but in a safe way in the current climate.

Domestic abuse victims are able to request that the court makes arrangements for their safety during a hearing. The family Justice Council has specific guidance about this if you follow this link.

Litigants in Person

Please see our article about self representation to find out what it means to be a litigant in person. You can find specific advice if you are representing yourself in court here.

Applying to Court

You can find guidance here about applying to court and it is also a good idea to contact your court to find out how they are dealing with applications since some courts are operating differently. Most of them are now accepting emailed applications so you don’t have to attend the court building at all. You should be aware that many courts are operating using a reduced number of staff so you may struggle to get through to the court at times.

How do Remote Hearings Work?

Remote hearings are designed to enable applicants and respondents to have their case heard without having to attend the court in person. This is done using technology in order to comply with Government guidance surrounding the pandemic to ensure that all parties are able to stay at home. There is no guidance however to specify that one particular method of communication should be used and so the courts can use one of a variety of technologies including a telephone conference call, BT MeetMe, Skype for Business, or their own Cloud Video Platform (CVP).

You can find guidance here about using remote hearing technology and the court should send you details in advance about the platform you will be using. It is a good idea to familiarise yourself with this before the date of your hearing.

In the case that one party has poor internet connection or if they are unable to use the platform that the court would normally use, the hearing would usually go ahead over video conference instead.

Hybrid Hearings

in some cases, a party may attend a court in person and other participants of the case would attend remotely. If you are called to court in person, you and a legal representative if you have one would attend the court. If you are shielding, you should make the court aware of this so that alternative arrangements can be made.

Urgent Hearings

As usual, the court will prioritise cases that are of an urgent nature. This is for example if a parent is at risk of leaving the country with the child or if the child is in danger. Just as the High Court have used in the past, the family courts are using a similar procedure to hold emergency hearings over the telephone. You can find information about the injunctions or urgent orders in relation to children should be prioritised by the court. The court is used to dealing with emergency telephone hearings in the High Court. A similar procedure is likely to now be used in the rest of the Family Court.

you can use this link to learn about the types of cases that the court considers to be urgent and will therefore prioritise.

Welcome to the Blog

Welcome to our blog. This is a new section of the site where we will share some relevant news articles as well as tips for attending court, effective communication, your rights and how to go about getting ahead in that you want to achieve for your family.

We know there are a lot of useful resources out there for families going through separations, but we also know that with drastic changes to legal aid in recent years, more and more parents are having to do their own research online.

On our site, you’ll find plenty of articles about various topics, but we hope that you’ll stop by our blog here once in a while so that you can get even more help and advice.

We welcome you to comment on all of our posts and articles and we will do our best to help answer your questions where possible.

You can find some of our articles here, or use the menus above:

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 for the father to be the non resident parent and so it’s usually the mother who is the main point of contact for the school or doctor’s. This can mean that the father misses out on important information about their child. If you are a father who feels as though he is being excluded from this vital information, this guide will help you to understand your rights and how to exercise them.

Contact Your Ex

We have covered several articles about communication with your ex. Although it is difficult at times to communicate amicably, it can help you to keep things civil if you approach your ex first. Explain that you want to stay involved with your child’s education and wellbeing and explain that you would like to have access to the same medical and educational information as they do. If your ex agrees, you will find that it is a far more simple process as she will just be able to send you copies of everything she gets or she may talk to the school. This will save a lot of work on your side as well as keeping things friendly between the two of you.

Of course the other parent isn’t always so keen to agree to your requests so in that scenario, there are things that you can do. First of all, you need to ensure that you have parental responsibility. If you have it, you will be able to ask the relevant authorities for this information and they should provide it to you.

Medical Information

If your ex has refused to share information about your child with you and you have determined that you do indeed have Parental Responsibility, you should contact your child’s doctor’s surgery. You need to explain to them that you have parental responsibility for your child and that you have the right to health information about your child.

Your child’s surgery may request to see proof that you have parental responsibility for your child. Try not to see this as the surgery being awkward. They have a legal obligation to uphold the law about confidentiality of patient records. They will need to see proof that you hold parental responsibility so that they can be sure that they are providing you with information that you are entitled to have.

If Your Are Refused This

If you have proof that you have parental responsibility but the practice is still not being forthcoming with the information that you are requesting, you are entitled to make a complaint. You should ask how to make a complaint or even ask to speak to the General Practice Manager.

If the Practice Manager is also not helpful or if your complaint isn’t dealt with appropriately, you can then contact the Health Authority or Information Commissioner. They should be able to help you to access your child’s medical records.

When You Don’t Know Which Practice Your Child is Registered With

Sometimes, you are not informed of which practice your child is registered with. If this is the case, you will be able to write to the Area Health Authority who will be able to tell you which practice your child is registered with. You will need to provide them with proof of Parental Responsibility in order for them to deal with your request.

Once you have found out the details of the practice, you will then be able to contact the practice as mentioned above to request information about your child’s medical records.

Schools and Education

If has been confirmed by the Department for Education and Employment that both parents, whether resident or not, have the same rights as each other when it comes to information about your child’s education. As long as no restriction from the court is in place, any parent who has parental responsibility of the child has the right to receive information about their child’s schooling.

You should ensure that you have given the school your address and informed them formally that you wish to be sent all information about your child’s schooling.

Informing The School

The best way to let the school know that you want information about your child’s education is to contact the school directly. You should be as pleasant as possible but be assertive in what you ask for. Make it clear that you are a parent with parental responsibility and that as such you are entitled to receive the same information as the resident parent regarding your child’s education. Inform them that you would like this information to be sent to you promptly at the same time that it is sent to the other parent.

You should submit this request in writing, keeping a copy for your own records. You should also include proof that you have parental responsibility as the school will need this proof in the same way as the doctor’s practice will need it.

The school may ask you further questions about your right to see your child. This may seem a little unfair, but they have a duty to ensure that there is no court order restricting access to information. As long as you have no court rulings against you, the school should ensure that they share with you the information that you’ve requested.

If The School Refuses

Whilst most schools will already have systems in place such as online portals that will automatically share letters and such once you have been confirmed as being a parent with parental responsibility, other schools can be more difficult when it comes to keeping you informed. If you feel that you are being denied access to your child’s school information in spite of providing all the necessary paperwork, you should contact the Local Education Authority where the school is located. You should use the guidance from the Department of Education and Employment and explain that you are not being provided with information that you are legally entitled to despite having no court ruling against you and having proof of your parental responsibility The Local Education Authority should be able to help you to access this information to stay informed about your child’s education.

Choosing A School

Choosing a new school or selecting a school for your child isn’t as simple as picking a school that you or the other parent likes. School selection processes depend on where the resident parent and child lives as well as the popularity of the school. If the resident parent has relocated with your child, you may find that there are not many school that have places if your child is in the middle of a school year. Sometimes, the child has to go to the school where they are placed and there is little that can be done about this. If your ex is considering moving your child against your wishes and you believe that a school change would be detrimental to your child, you can apply for a Specific Issue Order.

Specific Issue Order

Sometimes you can find that you are having too large a disagreement with your ex about your child’s schooling or their general practitioner and you find that those organisations are denying your rights as a parent, you can apply to court for a Specific Issue Order if:

You want the court to make an order about the way in which your child is being looked after by the other parent.
You cannot reach an agreement with the other parent about which school your child goes to or which GP they are registered with.
You fear for your child’s wellbeing.

Whilst courts are there to help you to resolve difficult disputes, you should only turn to the court if you have reached a last resort. Court dealings are stressful for everyone in your family, including your child, not to mention being lengthy putting a strain on your co-parenting relationship.

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 Legal Aid

For those who are eligible, legal aid is help with legal costs associated with family matters. This is funded by the public and covers legal advice, family mediation and representation in court or at a tribunal. In England and Wales, financial support for court cases is provided by The Legal Aid Agency.

Three key points are considered when assessing applications for legal aid:

Scope – To ensure that the application to the court or the matter that financial assistance is being sought for is covered.
Means test – Your income is assessed to ensure that you can’t afford to pay for your own legal costs.
Merits test – How successful are you likely to be? Are the costs reasonable? Would someone pay money for the case if they could afford to do so?

Different Types of Legal Aid

Legal help – your award will cover the cost of a solicitor advising you about your case and even negotiating with the other party in the case, but they will not represent you at court.
Family Mediation – A solicitor will help you to negotiate with the other party outside of the courtroom in a Family Mediation capacity.
Legal Representation – A solicitor can represent you in court or they may even arrange for a barrister. The solicitor will prepare your case for you so that you have full legal assistance throughout the case.

What Kinds of Issues Qualify For Legal Aid?

You may be able to get financial assistance if your family issues include any of the following:

Family Mediation – This can be part of an application to court or it could be a measure to help you and your ex to come to an amicable arrangement outside of the court room. Issues dealt with in mediation include financial and child arrangements matters at the heart of a breakup.
An application for a restraining order
An application for an occupancy or non molestation order
Applications for a Child Arrangements Order, Prohibited Steps Order or Specific Issue Order if you or your child are at risk of suffering harm or have suffered violence or abuse from the other party.
Representation for children who become party to a family court proceeding
An application for a forced marriage protection order
Proceedings initiated by the local authority to apply for a supervision or care order
Family issues where your child is going to be taken out of the UK without your consent.
Some exceptional cases, for example where it would be an infringement of your Human Rights under EU law to refuse you access to legal representation.
Applications from 10th December 2015 for post-adoption contact where there is proof of domestic violence or abuse against a child or if the child has been made party to proceedings.

If you think that your case would qualify for legal aid, then you would not need any evidence to speak to a legal aid solicitor, but in order to verify your eligibility, you will need to produce sufficient evidence.

The Legal Aid Finder is a tool that you can use to find a registered solicitor to help you with your case.

Means Tested

You will find that most applications for Legal Aid for family isues are means tested. This means that you will need to be on a low income to qualify. You will be asked for details of your income including benefits, savings and invstments and you will need to produce this information for your partner too if you live with one.

Some family issues don’t require you to provide your financial means, for example if your child is in care or if they are subject of supervision proceedings.

How Do You Go About Applying For Legal Aid?

If you believe that you fulfill the criteria above and you think that you could be eligible for legal aid, you should contact Civil Legal Advice or you could make a direct appointment with a legal aid solicitor. If you apply directly to a solicitor, they will need to apply to the Legal Aid Agency for the funding for your family issues. You are usually given time scales in which to provide documents for the Legal Aid Agency so it is important to ensure that you get copies of any paperwork that you may need to prevent your application being delayed or closed.

If your application is successful, then you will be issued with a Certificate from the Legal Aid Agency and this will give a figure for the amount of funds that you have been awarded to spend on your case along with the type of family issues that you will be allowed to use the funds for.

If you have any changes in circumstances, it is your duty to report these changes as soon as possible.

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 be paramount, it is always the children who the court will prioritise and not the parents.

To ensure that the best outcome is chosen for the child, court professionals and other people involved in the court process will take into account some key criteria. This is known as the Welfare Checklist and is something of a guideline to follow to ensure that all factors have been considered.

The Welfare Checklist is laid out in Section 1 of the Children Act 1989.

Lets take a closer look at the Welfare Checklist and how it applies to children at the heart of a legal dispute.

The Checklist Criteria

1. The ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned (considered in the light of his age and understanding);

There is no specified age that a child must be before the court will take his or her feelings into account during the court process. In general, more weight will be placed on the wishes of the child from the age of around 11 or 12, but it is very dependant on each indivdual child. It is up to the court and other professionals to decide whether or not the child has the level of maturity required to have a good understanding of the situation.

The child is normally assessed by CAFCASS. CAFCASS will speak to the child to ascertain their wishes and feelings and then a report will be written to relay back to court. Sometimes, the judge at court will speak directly to the child although this is less common. Parental Alienation is something that is becoming more recognised by the legal system and the court will do its best to ensure that the wishes of the child are indeed their own and are not influenced by a parent. Although the wishes of the child may be taken into consideration, this will not be a deciding factor when the court is making a decision. All other pieces of information and arguments are assessed and a decision is made based on all the information that the court has.

2. his physical, emotional and educational needs;

Some children have greater physical needs than others. The court will consider which parent is better equipped to deal with these physical issues. Whilst some children won’t have any complex physical issues, the court recognises that those that do may need different levels of physical need as they grow older. Emotional needs can be a little less straightforward than a child’s physical needs. The court will base their decision on the parents’ ability to meet the child’s needs whilst maintaining the stability they need.

3. the likely effect on him of any change in his circumstances;

The court will usually favour a decision that will have the least impact on a child’s life. Changes in circumstances can be disruptive to a child, such as an application for a non resident parent to become a resident parent. Changes in school and social environment are other changes that could be disruptive to a child’s routine.

4. his age, sex, background and any characteristics of his which the court considers relevant;

The court will take into account the age, gender and other factors such as religion and cultural background which differ from child to child depending on their wider family and the individual child.

5. any harm which he has suffered or is at risk of suffering;

The court takes into account harm and potential harm, which is defined as “‘ill treatment or the impairment of health or development”. The safeguarding of the child is a priority so any control measures that need to be put in place by the court are put into place to ensure that the child is safe. Allegations of domestic abuse are taken seriously and will be examined by the court.

6. how capable each of his parents, and any other person in relation to whom the court considers the question to be relevant, is of meeting his needs;

The court will assess both parents to ensure that they are both able to meet the needs of the child whether they are the resident parent or not. The court needs to consider the accommodation that the parents are able to provide to the child and other ways in which the parents are able to meet the needs of the child. This is assessed on a case by case basis and considers both parents’ abilities to care for the child, which means that no assumption is made that a mother is better at meeting the needs of the child than the father.

7. the range of powers available to the court under this Act in the proceedings in question.

Sometimes, the court may feel it necessary to exert more control over the parents to ensure that the child’s needs are met and that the child can maintain a good relationship with both parents. A prohibited steps order to prevent a parent from relocating overseas with the child for example, may be a measure that the court takes to ensure the safety of the child and to maintain contact with the other parent.

The Welfare Checklist is a very important tool in the family court system as it ensures that the court considers all factors for the child and to have the best chance of making a decision that will be beneficial to the child and their upbringing.

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 handling your relationships with your children following a breakup as the primary focus of the court system are the children.

A McKenzie Friend is someone who you can ask to help you with your Family Court Issues. They are not a qualified solicitor and so there are some things that they cannot do. You are also able to self represent yourself in court as a Litigant in Person (LIP) and most people find that they do not need a solicitor at all. All you need is the knowledge of the court process, some tips on filling in forms and advice on how to handle your case. If you find that the process is overwhelming, then we are happy to step in to help you.

A McKenzie Friend CANNOT:

• File paperwork on your behalf at the court or sign court documents

• Address the court or examine witnesses. In some exceptional circumstances, a Mckenzie friend can be granted “rights of audience” which would then give the McKenzie Friend the ability to act for the litigant and to address the court, but this is not granted very often.

A McKenzie Friend CAN:

• Provide moral support for the LIP

• Take notes

• Help with case papers

• Advise on:

points of law or procedure
issues that the litigant may wish to raise in court
questions the litigant may wish to ask witnesses

You can read our articles to see if the information that you’re looking for is on this site. We are adding articles all the time and do our best to ensure that everything that we post is accurate and up to date. Check out the “Articles” tab in the menu at the top of this page.

If you have any questions, you can contact us at any time. We will do our best to email you back and answer any questions that you may have.

We also offer some services that require payment. This is because these tasks are fairly time consuming and so we simply require a fair reimbursement for our time. We do not charge anywhere near as much as a solicitor would charge you and our fees are transparent and published here on our website. Sometimes, there may be additional fees involved, especially if your case is particularly complex, but we will let you know about this first so you can tell us how you wish to proceed.

Although North West McKenzie Friends is a Lancashire based service, we are able to help anyone in England who may need family law advice. There are no rules about where your McKenzie friend should be located and so we would be able to advise or help you with your paperwork whether you live in Preston or Southampton.

If you would like to know more about our service, you are welcome to contact us here.