Chapter Five - serving the papers

What Do I Do Now?

You must now tell the respondents and ‘others to whom notice is to be given' that you have applied for a Residence Order. There are a number of technical rules about ‘service of papers' which include restrictions on who must be served with documents, which papers you must serve, the timing of service and how the papers must be served. If you get these wrong the case will be delayed and you might need to go back to the beginning of the process. You will need to prove to the court that the relevant people have received copies of the papers. This might seem rather complicated but cases involving children are so important it is crucial that everyone involved has an opportunity to state their interest and become joined to the proceedings if necessary.

Remember, you may have only known about the proceedings relating to your grandchildren because you were served with a Form C6 or C6A - so try to be patient and calm when going through the various stages. The Court Office or FRG are there to provide you with information and support if you are confused about this stage of the case.

In some cases the respondents and other people will already know about your application and it will be quite easy to serve them with copies of the documents. However, if you have any worries about serving papers (particularly if you are concerned about your physical safety or that of any children living with you) do talk to the court office and they will be able to advise you on what to do next.

What Papers Do I Serve On The Repondents?

Make sure that you have enough copies of the Notice of Proceedings (Form C6). The Court Office will have filled out C6 to show the date, time and place of the first court date (the Directions hearing). You must ensure that the papers are served in plenty of time to enable Respondents to seek legal advice or lodge their response to your application. Legal rules govern the last date on which you can serve the papers on a Respondent, (21 days before the hearing). The Court Office will tell you the date by which service must take place.

If you have not served the papers by the given date you must inform the court of this fact. You will also be required to explain what (if any) problems you have had in effecting service so it is advisable to contact the Court Office if any difficulties occur.

Everybody named in Box 4 of Form C1 and Box 3 of Form C2 must be served with the following documents:

• One copy of Form C6
• One copy of Form C1
• One copy of Form C2
• One Form C7 (Acknowledgement of Service)

Although the Court Office will not usually allow you to file any other papers with your Forms C1 and C2, if you have been allowed to attach any other documents to your Application (for example a copy of a court order) you must provide all of the Respondents with one copy of any other papers that have been filed.

What Papers Do I Serve On ‘Others To Whom Notice Is To Be Given'?

Again, make sure that you have enough copies of Form C6A. Anyone listed in Box 5 of Form C1 must receive the following document:

One copy of Form C6A

This is the only paper which you serve on ‘non-parties' as it is their responsibility to find out more about your Application if they wish to become involved in the case.

Once you have prepared your bundle of documents you must then serve the papers on all the respondents and others people who are entitled to know about the case.

How Do I Serve The Papers?

Service can only be made in certain ways.

When someone has a solicitor:
It is likely that anyone who has been involved in care proceedings over their child already has a solicitor. You will probably know the name of the respondents' solicitors if you have in any way been involved in these earlier proceedings. When you are aware of the lawyer's identity you must always serve the papers on the solicitor instead of the person. This is done in one of two ways: either by taking the forms to the solicitor's office and handing them in, or by sending the forms to the solicitor's office by First Class post.

Where a Social Services Department must be served with papers, do this by sending/delivering their sets of papers to the Legal Department of the Local Authority marked For the Attention Of: The Director of Social Services.

If someone does not have a solicitor or you are unsure if they do:
You must serve the papers in one of two ways: either by handing the papers to the person or by sending the person the bundle by First Class post.

If you have ANY concerns about your safety or that of any child resident with you ALWAYS post the papers to the other person.

It is a good idea to get the Post Office to provide you with a ‘Proof of Postage' slip before you send any important documents. This record of postage is free of charge and is good evidence that you have actually attempted to serve the relevant documents. You can also send forms by recorded delivery or registered post but do think about this carefully as it give other parties an opportunity to evade service if they wish to be awkward and refuse to collect a package from a post office or accept the bundle once they see your name on the envelope.

The court does have ways of dealing with these sort of delaying tactics when it is clear that someone is deliberately avoiding service, but it is obviously better if the papers can be served in the ordinary manner. In general if documents are sent to someone's home the court will assume that the person has received notification of the hearing as long as they are known to be living at that address. In the case of official bodies such as SSDs and solicitors the only mishap likely to occur, is if papers have become lost in the office. In such circumstances the court is unlikely to be particularly sympathetic to professionals and will generally deem that service has taken place.

How Do I Prove That I've Served The Papers Correctly?

After Serving the Papers you must complete Form C9 (Statement of Service).

Form C9 requires you to provide information on the people you have served, details of the forms you served them with, and the way in which you have served the papers. Where you have served the papers by post you are asked to note the date, time and place of postage, which is why it is a good idea to have some proof of posting which can be produced if any dispute arises and another party claims not to have received their papers.

Once you have filled in Form C9 take a copy of it and then send or take the original form to the Court Office where it will be filed with your set of papers.

What Happens Next?

Every respondent in the case must send their acknowledgement of service (form c7) to the court within 14 days of being served with your application. the c7s are then filed with the other documents and are proof that the other parties are aware of the proceedings.

other people who are entitled to be notified of the proceedings (but are not respondents) do not have to acknowledge receiving form c6a (notification of proceedings). however they may decide to file their own form c2 and ask to be joined to the case. this may in fact have been how you became involved in any proceedings relating to your grandchild.

you have now completed your application for leave to apply and a residence order.

Next - Court Hearings