Steven Wade is a family law advisor (McKenzie Friend) with nearly 20 years of experience helping people represent themselves in court. Having been through the system personally and supported thousands of others since, he knows what it’s like to face the stress, confusion, and pressure of doing it alone. This blog shares practical insights that empower you to take control of your case — without the legal jargon or the hefty solicitor’s bill.
Who is allowed in Family Court?
Family Law Assistance
The only alternative to a solicitor.
Who is allowed in Family Court?
- Introduction
- What is the Family Court?
- Court buildings
- Inside the Court building
- Inside the Court room
- Can I take a friend or family member in with me?
- Conclusion
Introduction
The Family Court is an alien environment. Most people have no involvement with the law and don’t come into contact with solicitors and other legal professionals until they buy a house (and aside from complaints about slow service, etc.) dealing with them isn’t terrible.
It’s different when it comes to a court case for your children, your finances, your divorce.
Even more so if you have to walk through the doors of a court building and go before a judge after speaking to the potentially hostile legal representative of your ex partner. You’re nervous, full of uncertainty about the future and buckling under upsetting questions and accounts of your character faults a spouse or parent.
It’s natural to overthink it all. One of the questions commonly asked is `Who is allowed in the family court?’ I’m going to answer that in this blog post.
What is the Family Court?
The dry answer is the Family Court (or more accurately `Family Court and the Family Division of the High Court’ is a division of the Courts and Tribunal System. That system contains every other court you can think of (and others you’ve likely never heard of).These courts are divided between civil and criminal law – family law being the former.
The Family Court deals with three main areas. They are:
- Children (using the Children Act 1989).
- Financial settlements (using the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973)
- Divorces (again using the Matrimonal Causes Act)
- Non Molestation and Occupation Orders (using the Family Law Act 1996)
Really the Court isn’t an actual place – it’s an organisation.
Court buildings
The building you attend hearings in isn’t the court. It’s the court building (or the court house if you’re American).
Different things happen in different buildings – there is a lot of variation in types and names. This includes courts:
- Where only Family Law proceedings take place.
- Where other areas of civil law only.
- Dealing with both civil and criminal law.
- County Courts
- Magistrates Courts
- Combined Courts
- Civil Justice Centres
- Such as the Royal Courts of Justice
Some towns and cities have none, one or a mix of the above. It’s why you need to check your order (or notification of proceedings if you’ve not yet been to court) to make sure you go to the right one. It’s quite possible for a hearing to be held in one location and in another for the next. This can happen for a variety of reasons – so make sure you aren’t rushing from one location to another because you’ve not noticed this has happened.
Inside the Court building
The buildings can range in size and design. There are old buildings such as the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in Central London, modern buildings (Cambridge and Manchester are good examples) and ones that look like they were built in the 1970s (such as Leicester and Romford).
Facilities in these range drastically too – with some courts having none at all, with others (mainly the more modern ones) having consultation rooms, restaurants and coffee shops.
To enter these buildings you will need to pass through security. Your bag will be searched, you will go through a metal detector and you’ll be asked why you are there. Litigants, solicitors, barristers, McKenzie Friends, etc. will be admitted without much ceremony and so will family members or friends in most situations (although it isn’t completely unknown for the odd security guard to attempt to deny entry to these).
So in the answer to the question `Who is allowed in Family Court?’ is `Anyone you like when it comes to the court building).
This is different to the Court building however, so read on…
Inside the Court room
The hearing itself? That’s where things get strict.
During a hearing the following will be allowed inside the court room:
- Litigants
- McKenzie Friends
- Legal representatives (solicitors, barristers, etc.)
- Witnesses (when they’re called).
A witness is by the way is someone who provides testimonial evidence, either oral or written, of what they know or claim to know. This includes CAFCASS officers, doctors who have written statements or reports, or anyone else who has written a statement that has been submitted to the court.
Can I take a friend or family member in with me?
Probably not.
I’m not saying it doesn’t happen. It does. It’s not unknown for a court to allow friends or family members in (either for support or as a McKenzie Friend) but it’s rare and there is a good chance they will be excluded (especially if the other side objects). Don’t count on being allowed to do this. A judge or magistrate may or may not allow it either depending on their personal views and/or if the person with you is seen as helping or hindering – someone who is causing problems will almost certainly be removed very quickly.
It’s worth remembering your friend or family member is unlikely to be permitted as your McKenzie Friend either because they have an `interest’ in the case too.
Conclusion
The take home from this blog is you’ll probably be allowed to bring who you like into the court building, but the opposite is true of the actual hearing in the court room itself.
Take this into account when you are planning your day in court. A plan will make you calmer, able you to think ahead and give you one less thing to worry about on the day.
The good news? We’re allowed inside court with you. We’ve been doing that for 2 decades now. To organise that, grab one of our Ask Me Anything online slots and we’ll get going!
This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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