What is a C100 Section 8 application?

A C100 form is used for making an “application under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 for a child arrangements, prohibited steps, specific issue order or to vary or discharge or ask permission to make a section 8 order.

The C100 Section 8 application can be used for Child Arrangements Orders, Prohibited Steps Orders and Specific Issues Orders.  Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 is very important within family law as it deals with residence, contact and other orders with respect to children.

Under Section 8 (1)

“In this Act —

• “a contact order” means an order requiring the person with whom a child lives, or is to live, to allow the child to visit or stay with the person named in the order, or for that person and the child otherwise to have contact with each other;
• “a prohibited steps order” means an order that no step which could be taken by a parent in meeting his parental responsibility for a child, and which is of a kind specified in the order, shall be taken by any person without the consent of the court;
• “a residence order” means an order settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom a child is to live; and
• “a specific issue order” means an order giving directions for the purpose of determining a specific question which has arisen, or which may arise, in connection with any aspect of parental responsibility for a child.” 

Under Section 8 (2)

“In this Act “a section 8 order” means any of the orders mentioned in subsection (1) and any order varying or discharging such an order.”

In simple terms, if a party wishes to make any changes to child arrangements, they must complete the C100 form to initiate the application.

In doing so, the Applicant is making a request to their local Family Court to make a decision in relation to parenting arrangements for their child or children. The application can be downloaded and printed, or it can be completed online.

Mediation Information Assessment Meeting (MIAM)

In 2014, it became a legal requirement for all Applicants to consider mediation and to attend a MIAM meeting. This meeting is arranged to help parties understand how mediation works and whether it would be suitable in their situation.

The Applicant may opt for a Standard MIAM or a Fast Track MIAM. When the Applicant completed the meeting, the mediator will then sign the C100 form on page 9 if mediation is not suitable in the situation, or if mediation was attempted but was not successful.

It is important to note that Judges often encourage mediation, and although it is not compulsory, the refusal of one party to mediate may be taken into consideration when making orders for costs.

What Happens Next?

When page 9 of the form has been signed by a mediator, the Applicant must complete the form filling in the relevant sections and submit the C100 application within 4 months of the date of the signature.

A Court Hearing will usually be arranged by a Judge which parties may be required to attend. The decisions made by the Judge at the hearing will be detailed within a Court Order.

C100 Section 8: Legal Costs

The cost of a Court Application is £232; however, some Applicants may be entitled to a court fee remission.

As with all legal cases, applying for an order under Section 8 is likely to result in additional legal costs such as solicitors fees and disbursements.

The rule of thumb in family law is that each party bears their own costs. In certain situations, such as in legal aid cases, and in circumstances involving unreasonable conduct of a party, an inter partes costs order may be made in favour of one or more parties on rare occassions.

In these circumstances, the Receiving Party will be required to submit a bill of costs to the Paying Party. The Paying Party can then negotiate those costs using points of dispute. Negotiation of costs should be undertaken using points of dispute and replies. If an agreement cannot be reached, a Detailed Assessment Hearing may be required.

Quite often, one of the parties involved in proceedings may be legally aided, and in these instances an Order will be made on conclusion for the legal aid costs to be assessed, which are payable centrally from the Legal Aid Agency, rather than any of the parties.

How can ARC Costs Assist?

ARC Costs can assist in all legal costs matters, including costs in C100 Section 8 applications, irrespective of whether you are a legally aided party, or a paying/receiving party. If a costs order is made, you should seek the assistance of a costs specialist immediately.

We also regularly provide assistance to law firms in legal aid funded cases, ranging from fixed costs matters, to exc exceptional costs claims and Very High Costs Cases (VHCCs).

We are highly experienced Costs Draftsmen/Costs Lawyers and have been successful in recovering substantial amounts in legal fees for our clients.

We can assist in the whole of the legal aid and inter partes assessment process.

For legal aid, we are often instructed to prepare and upload Bills onto CCMS, and to submit supporting documentation to have costs assessed and recovered.  We usually achieve a recovery of 90% plus on all matters submitted.

For any inter partes order, the detailed assessment process will apply.  From drafting your Bill of Costs and Points of Reply to conducting negotiations with the other side before advising on whether the claim should proceed to a Detailed Assessment Hearing, for which one of our in-house Costs Lawyers can provide representation. 

Similarly for paying parties, we are well versed in preparing Points of Dispute and contesting legal costs claims, and on average we reduce any Bill of Costs on which we are instructed to oppose, by 40%.

We can be contacted via email at info@arccosts.co.uk, or by telephone on 01204 397302. For more information on legal costs, please find out more about our speciality areas of expertise and our services on our legal costs page.

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