If you need help over the holiday period please refer to our Self-help Guide which has detailed information about all aspects of private and public law in family court as well as Child In Need and Child Protection.

If your case is urgent, please contact your nearest Law Centre or Citizens Advice Bureau and see if they can help. There is general information about the family court process here.

If you are involved with Social Services in a public law case please contact the Family Rights Group – they have a phone help-line and information online.

If you are in London, the Personal Support Unit at the Central Family Court might be able to help you with understanding the court process and filling in forms, but NOT legal advice.   You can call 0207421 8534/3 to make an appointment to see an advisor.

There is also an advice service at the Royal Courts of Justice.

You can apply to the Bar Pro Bono Unit for a barrister to represent you (they need at least 3 weeks notice of a hearing).

From September 2021 

If you need help with your own case, please send us an email describing your situation based on the questions here:  Questionsforselfhelp. 

We hold regular self-help meetings for mothers/primary carers.   These meetings are based on collective self-help.  We each explain what we and our children are facing, and what we have been doing about it.  We are not lawyers and we won’t be able to represent you, but the organisations at the Crossroads Women’s Centre where we are based and the mothers who come to these meetings have a lot of experience and we will all be able to make suggestions about what you, your friends and family can do, and what other support is available.  By pooling experiences among all of us we are stronger and more able to help each other.

Because a number of women come, we cannot spend all the time discussing any one case.  If you send us the answers to the questions before the meeting we can be better prepared.

Please use the questions as the basis for explaining your situation, and we will try to get back to you with some suggestions.