95 practical step-by-step guides for litigants in person in England and Wales. Written by a solicitor. Updated for the latest law.
No-fault divorce, spousal maintenance, pension sharing, consent orders, and financial settlement.
From the conditional order to the final order, financial settlement and children.
Spousal maintenance: when courts order it, how much, and for how long.
Common law marriage has never existed in English law.
Pensions, Mesher orders, the clean break, and the maintenance trap.
Pensions are often the most valuable asset in a marriage.
The legal minimum is about six months. Here is the realistic timeline.
When judicial separation makes more sense than divorce.
Unmarried couples have far fewer rights than they think.
Many divorcing couples think an informal agreement is enough. It is not.
Child arrangements orders, fathers rights, mothers rights, contact, grandparents, and parental responsibility.
The word custody has not existed in English family law for over 35 years.
Fathers have the same legal standing as mothers. The reality is more nuanced.
Mothers have automatic parental responsibility from birth.
What shared custody means legally and when courts order it.
From mediation and the C100 through to the CAFCASS call and the final order.
Contact is dealt with through a child arrangements order.
When a child is at immediate risk, the family court can act within hours.
Parental responsibility, court orders, and the correct legal route.
Grandparents have no automatic right to see grandchildren.
A father cut off from his child still has legal rights.
Parental responsibility determines who can make decisions about a child.
A special guardianship order gives a non-parent parental responsibility.
Every family court decision about a child is made by applying the welfare checklist.
Court procedure, CAFCASS, fact-finding hearings, witness statements, cross-examination, and protective orders.
The C100 is your first communication with the family court.
The FHDRA is the first court hearing in child proceedings.
The officer has already spoken to the other parent.
One of the most important documents in early family proceedings.
Often the most important document in a contested child case.
Determines disputed facts -- usually allegations of domestic abuse.
The C79 application and what the court can order.
What it should contain and how to structure it.
Your witness statement is the most important document you will produce.
One of the most daunting parts of representing yourself.
A McKenzie Friend can sit with you and help you present your case.
How domestic abuse allegations change the course of proceedings.
How to apply and what protection you get.
Protects you from harassment, threats, and violence.
International and internal removal, prohibited steps orders, the Hague Convention, and urgent applications.
The Child Abduction Act 1984, what counts as removal, and what to do urgently.
Moving within the UK with a child -- what the law requires.
Prevent removal within the UK or internationally.
The Hague Convention, ICACU, mirror orders, and what to do in the first 24 hours.
Unfair dismissal, discrimination, redundancy, schedule of loss, and how to bring your own claim.
An independent judicial body that resolves disputes between employers and employees.
From calculating your deadline and contacting ACAS through to submitting your ET1.
The document that starts your employment tribunal claim.
The most common ET claim. What makes a dismissal unfair.
One of the harder claims to win. What it requires.
Different claims, different rules, different remedies.
The Equality Act 2010 protects employees on nine protected characteristics.
What each characteristic means and how the protection works.
Notice, statutory pay, fair selection, and what to do if the process was unfair.
Redundancy is only fair if the selection process is fair.
If you reported wrongdoing and suffered as a result, you have significant protections.
Before you sign, here is what most employees fail to negotiate.
One of the most misunderstood concepts in litigation.
The mandatory first step before any ET claim.
Get it wrong and you limit your recovery.
What they should contain and how to write one that helps your case.
Lost at the ET and think the judge made an error of law?
Faster and cheaper than an appeal.
What is already in force, what changes in October 2026, and what changes in January 2027.
The biggest overhaul of employment law in decades. What is changing and when.
Already in force from 6 April 2026. What changed and what your employer must do.
What ERA 2025 restricts from January 2027 and what the financial distress exception covers.
Most ET claims extend from 3 months to 6 months from October 2026.
The new enforcement body for employment rights -- powers, scope, and when it can act for you.
From 1 January 2027, 6 months service is enough. Compensation cap also removed.
Dismissed before 2 years, on sick leave, on a PIP, or offered a settlement -- what your rights are.
Most people in this situation are told they have no rights. That is wrong.
From 1 January 2027, six months service is enough.
A PIP is often the beginning of a managed exit.
The wording of your resignation letter determines whether you have a claim.
A settlement agreement is a permanent waiver of every claim you have.
Your employer can dismiss you on sick leave but only with a fair reason and a fair process.
Artificial intelligence is already eliminating roles. Here is what your redundancy rights are.
Just made redundant, at risk, unfair selection, pay disputes, consultation failures, and AI-driven job losses.
The decisions you make in the first 48 hours determine how much you recover.
Being placed at risk starts a legal process. Here is what you are entitled to ask.
Consultation is a legal requirement. A failure may trigger a protective award.
Errors in statutory redundancy pay calculations are common.
If the scoring process feels wrong, here is exactly how to challenge it.
AI is being used to justify redundancies. Here is what makes it unfair.
Neurodiversity, reasonable adjustments, disability dismissal, and the nine protected characteristics.
ADHD, autism and dyslexia are disabilities under the law. Your employer has legal obligations. Here is what they must do.
Your employer has a legal duty to adjust. When they refuse, here is exactly what to do and how to build your claim.
Uncapped compensation, no qualifying period. Here is what to do.
The Equality Act 2010 protects employees on nine protected characteristics.
What each characteristic means and how the protection works.
Protected disclosures, interim relief, the 7-day deadline, and the new sexual harassment protection from April 2026.
Dismissed for whistleblowing? You have 7 days to apply for an order keeping your salary paid. Here is exactly how.
Reporting sexual harassment is now a protected disclosure. If you were dismissed after reporting it, you have a direct whistleblowing claim.
If you reported wrongdoing and suffered as a result, you have significant protections.
Section 21 abolished, Section 8 explained, rent increase challenges, and your new rights from 1 May 2026.
Section 21 no-fault evictions end on 1 May 2026. Everything that changes.
Section 8 is now the only eviction route. How the grounds work.
A Section 8 notice is not an eviction order. You do not have to leave.
Landlords can only raise rent once per year from May 2026.
Security of tenure, pets, no bidding wars, rent caps.
How to serve Section 8 correctly, grounds for possession, rent arrears, and the RRA 2025 compliance checklist.
A defective notice means starting again. Here is how to get it right first time.
Every ground, what you must prove, notice periods, and restrictions.
The threshold has changed. Here is exactly what you need.
New mandatory ground under RRA 2025.
Action checklist for compliance.
Small claims, letters before action, judgment in default, and county court procedure.
The small claims track for claims up to 10,000. How it works.
A required step before issuing most civil claims.
If a defendant fails to respond, the claimant can apply for judgment in default.