Templates for instructing experts in family and children court proceedings

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The templates for instructing experts in family and children court proceedings were originally published at the beginning of 2013 and have been revised and updated to include:

• changes made by the Children and Families Act 2014
• revisions to the Family Procedure Rules 2010
• practice directions

As well as helping the parties, the templates will assist experts by:

• reducing the length of letters of instruction
• keeping the detail specific to the instruction
• aking sure there’s more consistency in material which is common to most instructions

Templates

Pro forma for preliminary enquiries

This document contains three pro forma templates that deal with:

• making preliminary enquiries of an expert you’re considering instructing
• an expert’s response to preliminary enquiries

Guide and sample questions for experts

A short guide on the types of expert, and the kinds of questions it may be helpful to ask to help the court reach a decision. It also provides sample questions for each example.

Pre-proceedings letter of instruction

This template is for local authorities’ use.

Letter of instruction

An instruction template for practitioners. This template has optional text for a range of circumstances.

Standard terms and conditions to accompany a letter of instruction

The standard terms and conditions for the lead solicitor and other parties to the instruction to use.