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It explains what a witness statement is, why it must be factual and based on what the person saw, heard or felt, and the need to share it with all involved parties. 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This legal guide will give you information about how to write a witness statement. |\n\nPreparing court documents can be daunting, especially if you don’t have a lawyer. This legal guide will give you information about how to write a witness statement. Rights of Women publishes a number of other legal guides that may be useful including Family Court proceedings: where can I get advice and support? and A guide to preparing for court hearings and safety in the Family Court. You can access our full range of legal guides [at](at www.rightsofwomen.org.uk)[ www.rightsofwomen.org.uk](at www.rightsofwomen.org.uk)  \nWhat is a witness statement?  \nA witness statement is a document setting out the evidence of the person writing the witness statement. It is signed by the author to confirm that it is true. It should contain all of the evidence that you want the court to have about the case and the reasons why you want the judge to make certain orders or directions.  \nA witness statement should be factual and state what was seen, heard or felt by the person writing the statement.  \nIt is important to remember that witness statements need to be shared with all of the people involved in the case and not just the court.  \nWhen to prepare a witness statement?  \nNormally, the court will tell you to prepare a witness statement and give you the time when you have to do this by. This will beset out in a notice or order from the court. You need to make sure that you provide the document by the time the court has given or you may not be allowed to rely on that evidence.  \nIf you need extra time to complete your statement you can write to the other parties in the case and the court asking for extra time and explaining why.  \nAs a general rule, you cannot give a witness statement to the court without first getting permission from a judge to file a witness statement. There are certain circumstances when you may prepare a witness statement without the court’s permission, for example, if you are making an urgent application and need to set out the evidence for your application in a witness statement.  \nIt is possible that you will be asked to provide more than one witness statement during the case as further information is required. The court will direct you to do this if necessary. If you believe that something relevant has happened during the case and you want the court to know about it, you can ask the court for permission to prepare a witness statement.  \nYou may want someone who is not involved in the proceedings to give evidence to the court because they have witnessed something that the court should know about. You should tell the court this as soon as possible and ask for the court’s permission for them to prepare a witness statement.  \nExample: Jane has separated from Simon. Simon has applied for a child arrangements order in relation to their 2 children. Jane is concerned about Simon having unsupervised contact because he used to get very angry with the children and shout and swear at them. A number of her friends and family have seen Simon behave this way towards the children. Simon denies that he behaved like this.  \nAt the first hearing, Jane should ask the court’s permission to prepare a witness statement setting out her concerns and for some of her friends and family who have witnessed Simon’s behaviour to also prepare witness statements setting out what they have seen.  \nAnyone can provide a witness statement and you should think about whether you have any witnesses who can support what you are saying before the first hearing. The best witnesses are people who:  \n• have directly witnessed something that you believe is relevant to the case  \n• are believable and consistent about what they say  \n• are not likely to take sides in the case  \nWhen you ask the court for permission to send w","cbCaimskU5XvEsUM","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimskU5XvEsUM","pdf",917806,"English","# What is a witness statement?\n## When to prepare a witness statement?\n# What to put in a witness statement?","[{\"question\":\"What is a witness statement in the Family Court process?\",\"answer\":\"A witness statement is a signed document that sets out the evidence of the person writing it. It should include the evidence and reasons for the orders or directions the judge should make.\"},{\"question\":\"When should you prepare and submit a witness statement?\",\"answer\":\"Usually the court tells you to prepare it and sets a deadline in a notice or order. You must provide it by the given time, and you can request extra time or permission in certain circumstances.\"},{\"question\":\"What information and formatting are required for a witness statement?\",\"answer\":\"The first page should include details such as who requested the statement, the witness’s name, the statement number, exhibit count, and the date. The document should also include court and case headings, be numbered in paragraphs, and pages should be numbered.\"}]","A guide to preparing witness statements for the Family Court - Practical instructions | PDF",1789525597]