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15 December 2023 / Sarah Hughes , Victoria Rylatt
Issue: 8053 / Categories: Features , Family , Child law
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Families in conflict

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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 true. The court found all 12 allegations to be true, describing

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

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NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
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