header-logo header-logo

Families in conflict

15 December 2023 / Sarah Hughes , Victoria Rylatt (formerly Brown)
Issue: 8053 / Categories: Features , Family , Child law
printer mail-detail
151431
False denials & families in peril: Sarah Hughes & Victoria Rylatt report on recent caselaw where fact finding hearings have uncovered significant issues
  • Covers issues arising after fact finding hearings in recent caselaw on private family cases involving children.

Following a fact finding hearing, the court has the benefit of a factual matrix upon which to base its decision. The outcome of a fact finding hearing can have significant repercussions for the rest of the proceedings, in respect of procedural and substantive matters. Within this article we address some key issues which have arisen in recent case law, further to the outcome of fact finding hearings.

A Mother v A Father

A Mother v A Father [2023] EWFC 105 (14 April 2023) involved a six-year-old girl and was described as ‘full of vitriol, allegation, and counter allegation’, in which the child had made allegations of sexual abuse against her father.

The matter for determination at the fact finding was whether what the child was saying was

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll