Instructing a Family Barrister: Divorce Finances, Child Arrangements and What to Expect

When a family barrister is the right call

A family law solicitor will handle most of your case — correspondence, disclosure, drafting consent orders, negotiating with the other side. A family barrister is brought in for the parts that need specialist advocacy or independent advice:

• Final hearings in financial remedy or Children Act proceedings
• First Appointments, FDRs and DRAs — the gateway hearings that often settle the case
• Interim applications — occupation orders, non-molestation orders, freezing orders, urgent child arrangements
• A written advice on merits or quantum when you and your solicitor want a second opinion
• Drafting of position statements, Scott schedules and section 25 statements

You can instruct a barrister either through a solicitor or, in many cases, directly under the public access scheme.

Financial remedy proceedings — where counsel adds the most value

Financial remedy work is fact-heavy and discretion-led. Two judges can look at the same facts and reach materially different orders. Experienced counsel adds value by:

• Pressure-testing the asset schedule before disclosure closes
• Pricing the realistic settlement bracket ahead of the FDR
• Advocating at the FDR — the single most important hearing in most cases, and the one where settlement is most likely
• Running the final hearing if it does not settle, including cross-examination of the other party and any single joint experts

For higher-value or business-asset cases, instructing a specialist financial remedy barrister early is usually cheaper overall than discovering at the FDR that the case has been pitched wrong.

Children Act proceedings — where the law meets the welfare checklist

Private law children work (child arrangements, prohibited steps, specific issue, relocation) turns on the section 1(3) welfare checklist and on the judge''s assessment of each parent. A family barrister will:

• Draft and refine your position statement for the FHDRA and DRA
• Advise on the realistic range of outcomes, including any section 7 or section 37 report
• Cross-examine the other parent at the final hearing, including in cases involving allegations of harm where the Re H-N guidance applies
• Advise on appeals where the trial judge has gone outside the reasonable range

Direct access in family work

Family is one of the most common areas of direct access practice. It works well where:

• You are representing yourself for most of the proceedings but want counsel for the hearings
• You have no solicitor budget left after the FDR and need advocacy for the final hearing
• You need a one-off advice on settlement, quantum, or whether to appeal

It is less suitable for matters that require continuous solicitor support — for example, complex children cases involving safeguarding, or financial cases requiring intensive disclosure management.

What to send when instructing

Counsel can usually advise on the basis of:

• The petition / application and any response
• The most recent Forms E and any replies to questionnaire
• The court order setting the next hearing and any directions
• A short chronology and a list of the issues you want addressed

A good clerk will help you assemble this if you are coming in directly.

Costs and fee structures

• Conferences and written advices — fixed fee, agreed in advance
• Hearings — brief fee plus refreshers, with a clear figure before the hearing is confirmed
• Direct access retainers — pay on account, drawn down against agreed milestones

Family barrister fees vary widely by seniority and complexity. For most financial remedy and private law children cases at county court level, a junior with five to ten years'' call will be the right call; reserve KCs for high-value finance, complex relocation, or appellate work.

How we help

We match you with family barristers who do this work day in, day out — including direct access where appropriate.

Send us a brief, or read more about family barristers, divorce barristers and child arrangements barristers.