The Law Society has developed the following suite of templates for practitioners to use when instructing experts in family proceedings. They have been developed to take account of new rules for the use of experts in family proceedings came into force on 31 January 2013, incorporating new Practice Direction 25.
The templates will not only help instructing solicitors, who can adopt or adapt them to the circumstances of the case, they should also assist experts by facilitating greater consistency in material which is likely to be common to the majority of instructions.
The templates
Pro forma for preliminary enquiries
This document contains three pro forma templates that deal with:
- the solicitor making enquiries of experts who they are considering instructing;
- the answers of the experts who have been approached; and
- the solicitor's proposal to the court.
Download pro forma for preliminary enquiries (Word 266kb)
Guide and sample questions for experts
This document offers a short guide on the types of expert, with sample questions for each.
Download the guidance document (Word 238kb)
Pre-proceedings letter of instruction
This document is a pre-proceedings template letter of instruction for local authorities' use.
Download the pre-proceedings letter template (Word 236kb)
Letter of instruction
This document is a template letter for instructing practitioners’ use, with optional text for a range of different circumstances.
Download the letter of instruction template (Word 261kb)
Standard terms and conditions to accompany a letter of instruction
This document offers standard terms and conditions for the lead solicitor and other parties to the instruction to use.
Download the terms and conditions template (Word 238kb)