Courts update for family-law solicitors
The Courts Service is to host a webinar later this month aimed at Circuit Court family-law solicitors.
The event will cover the Courts Portal and new family-law forms.
It will take place on Friday 23 October (9.15-10am) and CPD will be available for those who register and attend.
The webinar will cover:
- Circuit Court family-law web forms on the Courts Portal,
- Circuit Court family law on the portal,
- Statement of Truth: sign in solicitor’s presence, and
- New Circuit Court family-law forms.
Web forms
The Courts Service says that the Courts Portal will be enabled for web forms by the end of October 2026, enabling solicitors to move away from using only Word documents and fill in all the details needed to make filings directly on the portal.
The portal will generate the necessary court-compliant forms ready for submission online.
At the webinar, the courts body's digital team will provide a demo of the Circuit Court filings on the portal.
Statement of Truth
The Courts Service is introducing the option for clients to sign a Statement of Truth in their solicitor's presence in response to feedback from the profession.
It says that this approach removes the requirement for clients to use their own email address and mobile phone number as part of the signing process.
The courts body has recently enabled this feature on the Courts Portal for grants of probate applications.
Family-law forms
The Courts Service has also developed new Circuit Court family-law forms based on feedback from judges, solicitors, and court users.
The aim is to ensure that the forms use language and structure that will enable those completing them to provide the relevant information to be presented before the court.
The Courts Service is working towards a start date of 23 November for new forms and rules to come into effect.