In a family non-contentious matter, how may the claim be put to the family court, and what must happen when it is made orally?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we would read the application itself, checking whether it is a written petition or a note of an oral statement, and the record drawn up by the court official before whom an oral statement was made.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the provision as the route itself: a claim in a family non-contentious matter is made by filing an application with the family court, in writing or orally. An oral claim must be stated before a court official of that court, who draws up a record stating the party's registered domicile, address, name and date of birth, the agent's details where an agent applies, the relief and its basis, the date and the court's designation, and affixes their name and seal to it.
Another reading notes the provision does not say whether an application that is neither properly written nor properly stated before an official reaches the family court at all, nor whether the official must correct or refuse a defective oral statement, leaving open what the file must show for the claim to be treated as made.
Your judgment
Where an oral statement reached the court in writing only, how could the file show whether a claim was in fact made and on what terms?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to add requirements to a written or oral application, or if a court decision explains what an application must contain before it counts as made.