Whether you are applying for a child arrangements order, responding to a C100, preparing for your FHDRA, or fighting a contact refusal, Eugene Pienaar provides direct legal consultancy and court support.
Start with the free guides at Be Your Best Lawyer
From the moment you receive a C100 to your final hearing. Solicitor-trained support throughout.
Direct advice on your child custody position from a non-practising solicitor. Understand your prospects, your options and the strategy most likely to get the outcome you need.
Solicitor-trained review of your C100, position statement, witness statement or court bundle before it reaches the judge. Fixed fee, written feedback within 48 hours.
Eugene attends your family court hearing as your McKenzie Friend. He sits beside you, advises quietly, takes notes and helps you present your case clearly to the judge.
The courts in England and Wales do not use the term "custody." The legal term is child arrangements — but everyone still searches for child custody, and the concept is the same. A child arrangements order sets out who a child lives with and who they spend time with.
Around 80 percent of private family law cases now involve at least one litigant in person. If you are representing yourself in a child custody dispute, you are not unusual — but you are facing a process designed for lawyers, and the stakes could not be higher.
The C100 is the form you file with the family court to apply for a child arrangements order. It is also the form the other parent files against you if they are the applicant. Getting the C100 right matters — it sets the narrative for your entire case.
Common mistakes include failing to explain the urgency of the situation, not completing the MIAM section correctly, and providing insufficient detail about the child's circumstances. Eugene reviews and drafts C100 applications for litigants in person at a fixed fee.
The First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment is not a trial. No final decisions will be made at the FHDRA. But how you present yourself and what you say at this hearing significantly affects the direction of your case. CAFCASS will have spoken to both parents before the hearing and produced a safeguarding letter. The judge will want to understand the issues and explore whether they can be resolved.
Having a McKenzie Friend beside you at the FHDRA means you have a legally trained professional to advise quietly, take notes and help you stay focused when the pressure is on.
If the other parent is refusing to comply with an existing child arrangements order, you can apply to enforce it using Form C79. The court takes contact refusal seriously and has powers including unpaid work requirements, fines and — in serious cases — transfer of the child's living arrangements. Eugene can advise on the correct enforcement route and help you prepare the application.
Parental alienation — where one parent systematically undermines the child's relationship with the other — is increasingly recognised by the family courts. It is not a formal legal concept but it is relevant to the welfare checklist and can affect how the court exercises its discretion. If you believe alienation is happening, how you document and present it matters enormously.
The family court does not favour either parent by default. The welfare of the child is the only consideration. In practice, both fathers and mothers face the same procedural challenges as litigants in person — the difference is usually in the facts of the case and how well those facts are presented. Eugene provides legal support to both fathers and mothers in child custody proceedings.
Start with the guides. Come here when you need more than a guide can give you.
Section-by-section walkthrough of every question on the C100 application.
Read at Be Your Best Lawyer Action pack — £1948-hour action pack for respondents. What to do, what to say, how to respond.
Get the action pack Free guideWhat the officer is assessing, what to say and what not to say.
Read at Be Your Best Lawyer Complete guide — £79The full guide to child arrangements proceedings from first application to final order.
Get the guideStart with a free 20-minute call. No obligation. Eugene will tell you exactly what your case needs and what it will cost.