Step 4
Attend court hearing
You must attend court at the date, time and place set out in the application. This will be for a court hearing which will be held in private. The respondent may also attend court on the date stated in the application.
When the case is heard, you will be required to present your case to the judge.
You should bring any documents that support your case to the court with you.
Both you and the respondent will get an opportunity to give evidence to the court and ask the other party any questions about their evidence. The judge may also ask additional questions. After hearing all of the evidence, the judge will then make a decision on the application. This is called a court order.
If you fail to attend court, the case can be struck out by the judge. This means that the case will not go ahead and you will have to start the entire process again.
If the respondent fails to attend, the case may go ahead without them and the judge can make an order in their absence.
More information on preparing for Family Law court >
In some cases where children are involved, a judge might want information about their welfare, safety, health and care. If a child is of sufficient age and maturity, they might also want to take their views on board. To get this information, the judge might decide that they need a report from an expert.
More information about reports about children >