How to Write a Position Statement for Family Court
- Introduction
- What is a position statement for?
- What format should I use for a position statement?
- How do I write a position statement?
- Who do I give my position statement to?
- What will the court do with my position statement?
- A summary – the 4 things to do to write you killer position statement
- Conclusion
Introduction
A good position statement is worth it’s weight in gold.
It will tell the court and the other party everything you need it to know. Without you saying a word and/or before you even get to see a judge or magistrates. It also helps you plan for your upcoming hearing by getting you to think about what is really important and what you want.
Finally, it’ll be a good `script’ if you’re representing yourself as a litigant-in-person, particularly if you’re nervous, feel intimidated or tongue-tied when you get to the actual hearing.
What is a position statement for?
A position statement sets out your position for a particular hearing. People typically use them in a review or directions hearing. Most of these hearings have a certain `purpose’. It could be to see how contact has been going. It could be what you think of a CAFCASS/Social Services report. Or work out what to do next or deal with a certain issue.
People use other kinds of statements in the family court too.
For any statement though…they should mainly focus on what the hearing discusses and nothing else.
What format should I use for a position statement?
The old joke that the best place to bury a body is on page 2 of Google is true – no one looks there. The same is true if you write something the court needs to know halfway through a 71-page statement the judge isn’t going to read before your hearing.
If you’re tempted to write a long position statement (I’ve seen fifty-page ones), you waste your time and miss a golden opportunity to make sure the court knows everything it needs to know at your hearing. The easier you make it for the court to see what you need it to see, the more likely the court is to see, understand, and consider it—rather than telling you, ‘Thank you for your statement. I didn’t have time to go through it before the hearing.’
Position statements should be short. Two pages maximum – three at an absolute maximum. Times New Roman 12, spacing at 1.5 times and single rather than double-sided.
The header should contain the following information:
- The name of the court (i.e. `The Family Court at <Wherever>’
- The case number.
- The name of the children concerned.
- The dates of birth of the children concerned.
- The name of the applicant and the name of the respondent.
- A title (i.e. `Position Statement for Applicant Father’, etc.)
There are 3 sections to use. They are:
- Background – some basic info about the family history and the background to the case.
- Concerns – what is going on that needs addressing. Factual only.
- Order sought – what you want the court to order. As clear and unambiguous as possible.
Use plain language. Don’t use `legalese’. Words like `aforementioned’, `hereinafter and Latin terms like `ex parte‘, `inter alia‘ and `in absentia‘. Refer to parties as `Mother’ or `Father’ (or use their first names) as opposed to `the applicant’ or `the respondent’.
At the end it should have your name, the date and your signature.
How do I write a position statement?
You put in facts, not opinions. You focus on what the court needs to know at the next hearing. Nothing else.
As you need to keep your position statement there are a few things you can do to ensure that everything in it is going to help your case and the court to understand your position. Here are a few things to bear in mind:
- If it’s a child hearing the court will already know you’re doing things because you believe it’s in the best interests of your child.
- The court knows the law – you don’t need to use valuable space listing it.
- If it’s a child hearing ask yourself at every point if what you’re writing has any bearing on the criteria the court uses to make an order (i.e. the Welfare Checklist) or for finance hearings Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act). If it doesn’t…take it out. It’ll be irrelevant.
- Don’t use rhetoric or use the statement as a chance to say what you think of your ex. Nor should you use it to attempt to stick a `label’ on them – this includes calling them a `narcissist’ or `alienator’.
- Describe the behaviours and cite the words used. Present solutions that are as simple and workable as possible. Don’t `diagnose’ your ex as a narcissist or an alienator.
- Remain child focused – don’t talk about your time with the children; describe it as your child’s time with their mum/dad.
- Provide a solution that works and fits in with the law – there’s no point asking for something the court can’t or won’t order. Make sure it is fair and wherever possible, demonstrates your willingness to compromise and work with your ex.
- Don’t deny or refuse responsibility for anything you shouldn’t have done or said. Own it. Don’t make excuses. Talk about what you doing (not going to do) to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
- Don’t provide a `buffet’ of options when it comes to a solution. Say what you want clearly, unambiguously and confidently.
- Don’t use your position statement to rebutt any false accusations by you ex other than to say they didn’t happen.
- The statement is to express your opinion – nothing else.
- You’re not meant to make it comprehensive – you’re giving the headlines of the situation.
A good position statement will enable a judge or magistrates to understand everything they need to know for your hearing and minimise the questions they need to ask you at the hearing.
Who do I give my position statement to?
You need to give a copy of the position statement to the court (1 if it’s a judge you’re seeing, 3 if it’s magistrates). You also need to provide copies for the other party, one for CAFCASS, etc. and anyone else who is going to be at the hearing. Finally, have at least one copy for yourself.
As a rule, everyone involved in a case follows protocol by sharing every document. Expect the same courtesy so you don’t end up trying to read and respond to a document you haven’t seen. If that happens, tell the court—though don’t be too surprised if the other party apologises and calls it a simple ‘oversight’ or error.
For your statements it’s worth printing out too many copies rather than too few. Courts do have photocopiers but it can be expensive to do so as well. Even worse you may find yourself looking for a shop to print them. Instead of focusing on your imminent hearing or seeing if you can come to agreement with the other party.
When you arrive at the hearing (an hour before it is due to happen) go immediately to the court desk and let them know you are there. Hand over copies of your position statement and ask the court sees them before the hearing. Once you have done this, find the other party (or their solicitor) and hand them a copy too.
Sometimes you’ll need to find a court clerk (they’ll be dashing around with pieces of paper and long black robes) and ask them to hand it to the court.
Do this on the day of the hearing.
What will the court do with your position statement?
It depends. Sorry!
We recommend writing a position statement for most hearings. Unless absolutely nothing has changed since the last one or the court is using a trial bundle.
The court and the other party can react very differently when they receive a position statement. The responses we have seen includes:
- The court staff (at the desk, the clerk, a legal executive) and/or the other party may thank you for this document.
- They may say the court didn’t order it, so they can’t accept it and will ignore it.
- The court may thank you for it and telling you how helpful it was. It may also tell you off, ignore it or something else.
If the worst comes to the worst, a position statement will still be useful. Because you’ve got a script and what you want in black and white in front of you when you speak to the court. Sometimes, a court will tell you not to submit a position statement at the next hearing. It could say something along the lines of not submitting any documents at all unless specifically ordered to by the court – but this is rare.
A good position statement can be a huge advantage. Courts sometimes make orders without seeing the litigants in ‘emergency’ hearings when this document contains all the required information. They also sometimes draft orders using the wording in position statements—especially if you’ve done a particularly good job.
Look at it from the point of view of an overworked court system – your argument will be that more persuasive if you are working with the system and saving it time (as opposed to doing your best to cause as many problems as possible).
Many courts will take a pragmatic view. A good position statement saves time, makes your position clear and helps the court. When you make life easy for the court, you can gain a big advantage. The court will likely sees you engaging in the process openly, honestly, and with a clear focus on the matter at hand.
A summary – the 4 things to do to write you killer position statement
OK, so I’ve give you a lot to take in. Here are 4 sure-fire ways you can make sure that your position statement is going to be as good as it can be to help your case. I’m kind of going to be repeating myself here (but I need you to understand this).
Here we go!
1.) It’s a position statement – not a bundle!
Two pages maximum. No, seriously. A court will not read a 49-page extravaganza, complete with pictures, character witnesses from your mates and news clippings proving your ex is a narcissist even if you think it really, really, really needs to know all about this.
I’m going to guarantee this.
The judge/magistrates are overrun with hearings. They’ve likely got a few minutes between the last hearing they’ve just got out of and walking into yours. If they don’t read it, it doesn’t matter if your legal acumen would have Saul Goodman weeping with admiration at.
A good one is going to make their life easier. They may well think `This makes my life easier’ if it gives them a heads up of the situation in a bite size.
Also? As the old joke goes – the best place to hide a body is on the second page of Google. No one is going to trawl through pages to get to the stuff they need to see. If you’ve got stuff the court simply has to know make it as clear and plain as possible.
2.) The rule of 3 – what needs to go in it.
Your statement needs 3 sections. They are:
Background: A few broad details of the case. Why you made an application in the first place and when. What has happened/been ordered in previous hearings. Relevant stuff that has happened since the last hearing.
Concerns: What needs addressing by the court. Impact on the children. How relevant parties are behaving. Problems that need sorting, basically.
Order requested: What you want the court to do about it – what you actually want ordered. Make sure ask for stuff the court actually has the power to order and is child-focused.
The top of the order needs a header too with the name of the court, the people involved. Also add the case number, the children’s names and birthdates too so that there’s no confusion about which case your statement relates to.
3.) Keep it Relevant!
Don’t fill your short (2 page) statement up with stuff the court doesn’t need to know nor neither care about. You’re wasting valuable space, hiding relevant stuff in dross and could be making yourself look bad. A good way of doing this is reading through the Welfare Checklist. And then asking yourself `Is this relevant to any of this?’
If not – ditch it. Don’t feel the need to `pad it out’.
4.) Watch your Language!
It’s not about `your time with the children’. It’s `the children’s time with their mum/dad’. He/she isn’t the `applicant/respondent’ – they’re `Mum/Dad’ or `Sarah/Mark’. Call them whatever you’d call them out of court (no…I mean normal stuff – not that hilarious offensive nickname you have for them they don’t know about.
You don’t need to write `legalese’ either – words like `aforementioned’ and legal phrases like `inter alia’, `in camera’ and `corpus juris’ don’t make for a stronger legal argument (although it does have me picturing you in a black robe and wig!)
Conclusion
If you are representing yourself, a position statement can be one of the best tools you’re going to have. As I’ve said above writing one will help you focus on what is important and what isn’t. It’ll give you a script whether the court reads it or not. It’s almost almost always worth putting together. Aside from a small number of courts who refuse to read them, it is going to enable the court to see your side of things. That’s even if you walk into court and feel the judge and the other party’s solicitor don’t give you the opportunity to speak.
The court may not read it. Because there are no guarantees in law and the court `has a wide ambit of discretion’. From our experience over the years, most of the time the court welcomes a position statement and often thanks you for writing a clear one that helps it make a decision. Even your ex’s solicitor may appreciate it—because they’ll know exactly what you want.
This is especially true if you think you’re going to be tongue-tied on the day. It happens. Courts can be intimidating. But a position statement is a great tool to fall back on even if you get stage fright on the day!
We can help you write these statements of course. Over the last 18 years we’ve assisted hundreds (thousands?) of people in the same situation as you. We know what works…and what doesn’t. To get the ball rolling and us by your side book an Ask Me Anything session online and we’ll be with you every step of the way.
