Fact-finding hearings in family court: what happens and how to prepare

What a fact-finding hearing is

Many children cases never need one. A fact-finding hearing happens when one parent makes a serious allegation, usually of domestic abuse, the other parent denies it, and the answer matters for the child's arrangements.

The judge hears the evidence on those allegations and decides which ones happened. The findings then shape everything after: any Cafcass report, any risk assessment and the final order. Practice Direction 12J, the rule for children cases involving domestic abuse, sets out how the court handles this.

It is often a separate hearing held before the decision about the child, and when the court fixes it, it must also fix a dispute resolution appointment to follow. The same judge should normally deal with the rest of the case.

When the court orders one

The court decides as early as possible whether a fact-finding hearing is needed, usually at the first hearing. Under PD12J it considers, among other things:

• the views of each parent and of Cafcass;
• whether admissions already give it enough to go on;
• whether other evidence, such as a criminal conviction, already settles the point;
• whether the allegations, if proved, would make a difference to the decision about the child;
• whether a separate hearing is necessary and proportionate.

The judiciary's 2022 guidance tells judges the key tests are relevance, purpose and proportionality. If the allegations wouldn't change the decision about the child, however serious they are, no fact-finding hearing is needed. The order must record the reasons either way.

If you think one is needed, say so early and explain why the allegations matter for your child's arrangements.

How the judge decides

The person who makes an allegation has to prove it on the balance of probabilities: the judge must decide it is more likely than not that it happened. That is lower than in a criminal trial, so the family court can find an allegation true even where the police took no action.

The answer works both ways: if the judge finds an allegation proved, the rest of the case proceeds as if it happened. If not, it is treated as not having happened.

The evidence the court will direct

Once a hearing is ordered, the judge gives directions saying what each side must file and by when. PD12J lists what the judge should consider, including:

1. Witness statements from each parent, setting out the allegations and the response. Under PD27A a witness statement can run to 25 pages, not counting exhibits.
2. A schedule or table of the key allegations, with the other parent's response next to each one.
3. Third-party records, such as police disclosure, GP or hospital records, or notes from a domestic abuse service.
4. Witnesses, such as a relative who saw an incident, if the judge agrees their evidence matters.
5. Support to give evidence, such as a screen or video link.

The court controls the evidence. The 2022 guidance tells judges to refuse fishing exercises and to order targeted disclosure, such as a GP summary instead of full records. Ask for what you need at the directions hearing, and explain how each item supports or answers an allegation.

Statements and schedules of allegations

A schedule of allegations, often called a Scott schedule, is a numbered table. Each row gives a date, a short allegation and where the evidence for it is in your statement or the bundle. The other parent then responds row by row.

Schedules work well for specific incidents but less well for patterns such as coercive and controlling behaviour. In Re H-N (2021), the Court of Appeal warned that a list of separate incidents can miss the bigger picture. For a pattern, the judge may ask for a narrative statement instead, or group the allegations into clusters.

Whichever form you're asked for, keep each allegation short and factual, with the detail in your statement and the reference to it in the schedule.

IN THE FAMILY COURT AT [COURT]
CASE NUMBER: [number]
[APPLICANT NAME] (Applicant) and [RESPONDENT NAME] (Respondent)

SCHEDULE OF ALLEGATIONS OF THE [APPLICANT/RESPONDENT]
DATE PREPARED: [date]

No. | Date | Allegation | Where the evidence is | Response
1 | [date] | [what happened, where, and who was present, in one or two sentences] | Statement para [ ]; bundle page [ ] | [for the other party]
2 | [ongoing from date until now] | [the pattern of behaviour, two or three examples, and the effect on you or your child] | Statement paras [ ] to [ ]; bundle pages [ ] | [for the other party]
3 | [date] | [allegation] | [reference] | [for the other party]

[Your name]
[Date]

How to prepare your evidence

The judiciary's guidance tells judges to get the essential information about each allegation early. Prepare the answers to the same questions for every allegation you make or have to answer.

Since March 2026, PD27A keeps texts, WhatsApp messages, photos and voice notes out of the bundle unless the court directs otherwise. At a fact-finding hearing they often matter, so ask at the directions hearing to include the specific items you rely on, listed by date. Our guide to using text messages as evidence shows how to keep them complete.

Raise everything in time: the judiciary's guidance says new evidence about past events can be refused if there's no good reason it wasn't produced earlier.

If allegations are made against you

Being accused of abuse you deny is frightening, but the same rules apply to both sides, and the other parent has to prove each allegation.

• Answer each allegation. Judges are told to ask for a like-for-like response, so reply to each point in the same order.
• Accept what is true. Admissions are recorded in the order, and they can narrow what the hearing has to decide.
• Point to records made at the time. Messages, diary entries or records of where you were carry more weight than a memory pieced together later.
• Stick to what matters for your child. Counter-allegations that don't affect the arrangements won't help, and the judge can refuse to hear them.

Our guide to responding to false accusations covers how to keep records when this happens.

On the day

A fact-finding hearing can last from half a day to several days, depending on the number of allegations and witnesses. The judge reads the bundle first, and each parent then gives evidence on oath and is questioned about it.

PD12J allows an investigative approach, so the judge can ask each parent which questions they want put and then ask them.

Since 21 July 2022, the law bans cross-examination in person in some cases. It applies where there's a relevant conviction, caution or charge, a protective injunction, or specified evidence of domestic abuse. The court can also order it in other cases. If there's no other way to ask the questions, the court appoints a qualified legal representative to do it, paid for by the state.

Under section 63 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, a victim of domestic abuse is presumed to be vulnerable. Ask before the hearing for special measures such as a screen or video link. You may hear the findings at the end, or in a written judgment some days or weeks later.

After the findings

The judge records the findings in a schedule to the order, and the court sends them to any Cafcass officer preparing a report. The court then considers whether a section 7 report is needed, or whether its scope should change, and the case moves to the dispute resolution appointment.

If you think the judge got the law wrong, get legal advice quickly: an appeal usually needs permission and must normally be filed within 21 days. Our guide to section 7 reports covers what usually follows.

Why a record made at the time carries weight

A fact-finding hearing turns on details: dates, places, who was there and what else shows it. Months later, under questioning, those details are hard to recall, and gaps or changes in your account are exactly what the other side will test.

A record made at the time helps in three ways. It gives your statement and schedule exact dates. It shows you noted problems as they happened, not only once the case began. And when the judge asks to see a specific message or photo, you can find it in seconds.

Casewell keeps that record on your phone. Log each incident, message, missed handover and appointment as it happens, with the screenshots and photos behind it. Every entry shows when you recorded it, and later edits stay visible, so it's clear which notes you made on the day. When directions are given, export the period as a clear PDF chronology to build your statement and schedule from, or to give to your solicitor.

Your record is yours alone and depends on no one else's cooperation. Start it now, and when the judge asks what happened and when, you'll have the answer in front of you.