Skeleton Argument for Family Court: Rules and Deadlines

Part of: Your First Family Court Hearing

A skeleton argument is a short written document that sets out, in numbered points, why the court should decide an issue your way. You file it before the hearing, so the judge can read your case in advance.

The current version of Practice Direction 27A, the family court’s rule book for bundles, came into force on 2 March 2026. In children and other non-financial cases it treats the skeleton as its own document, separate from your position statement. In financial cases your arguments go inside the position statement instead. Appeals run on their own deadlines under Practice Direction 30A.

This guide explains what goes in, when it is due and what changes if you have no lawyer. It forms part of our guide to your first family court hearing and covers the law in England and Wales.

Told to file a skeleton, or sent one by the other side? You can book a free initial consultation and speak to one of our specialists before your deadline.

What is a skeleton argument in family court?

It is your written argument for one hearing, set out in numbered paragraphs with references to the bundle. Practice Direction 27A describes it as a separate document that “sets out a party’s arguments in support of their position” on the issues at that hearing (para 7.17).

The court asks for several documents, and each has its own job. Your position statement tells the judge what you want and how you see the issues. Our guide to the position statement in family court covers that document. Meanwhile your witness statement holds the evidence. So the skeleton’s task is narrower: it explains why that evidence, and the law, should lead the judge to the order you ask for.

Financial remedy cases work differently. There, “position statement” covers any written submission, so your skeleton and your position statement become one document (para 6.11). Its length then depends on the type of hearing.

When should a skeleton argument be filed?

For an ordinary family court hearing, it goes in with the other preliminary documents by 11am on the working day before the hearing (PD27A, para 13.2). On an appeal, the appellant’s skeleton goes with the appellant’s notice, or within 14 days of filing it when that is impracticable (PD30A, para 5.14).

Check the order that listed your hearing before you rely on these defaults. The timetable in Practice Direction 27A gives way to any directions the court has made in your case (para 13.1). Paragraph 13.2 also requires the preliminary documents to be served on every party, so the other side reads your skeleton before the hearing too.

Do you need a skeleton if you have no lawyer?

Often not, unless the judge asks for one or your case involves more detailed legal issues. This comes from the President of the Family Division’s guide to court bundles for litigants in person. In many cases, the guide says, your key points are already in your position statement. On an appeal, a party without a lawyer need not file one, although the court encourages it because it helps the judge (PD30A, paras 5.15 and 7.10).

Practice Direction 27A still lists a skeleton among each party’s preliminary documents (paras 7.8A and 7.10), so read the order that listed your hearing for any direction about one.

The practice direction also gives you some protection. If the other side relies on a case or other authority, they must send you a copy or a link before the hearing (para 10.4). When you are the applicant and the other side has a lawyer, that lawyer takes the lead on the agreed documents, such as the statement of issues and the reading list (para 7.9). Our guide for a litigant in person covers the bundle itself. You can also read about the support a McKenzie friend can give you at a hearing.

How to write a skeleton argument the judge can use

Write a numbered list of the points you want to make, each as brief as the case allows. Then follow every point with a reference to the document that supports it (PD30A, paras 5.16 and 5.17). Together the points should “define and confine” what is in dispute, so the judge sees at once what you are asking them to decide.

When you rely on a case, state the legal point it proves and give the page or paragraph numbers that support it (para 5.18). If you cite two cases for the same point, say why (para 5.19). The authorities then go into a separate bundle of no more than ten cases unless the court allows more. Where a case appears in a law report with a headnote, you must use that report instead of a transcript (PD27A, para 10.2).

Under the heading, give the date you wrote it and the date of the hearing it is for (para 7.13). Number your paragraphs (para 12.2) and cross-refer to the pages of the bundle wherever you can (para 7.14). Wherever possible, use at least 12-point type with 1.5 or double line spacing (paras 11.2 and 12.2).

Skeleton argument template: the usual layout

The rules set the content, and there is no court form for it, so any template you find online is only a starting point. A layout that meets the rules above often runs in this order:

1. The heading: the court, the case number, the parties’ names and which party’s skeleton it is.
2. The date you prepared it and the date of the hearing.
3. A short opening: what the hearing is for and the order you ask the court to make.
4. The issues, in the order you will argue them.
5. Your numbered points, each followed by its bundle reference.
6. Any authorities, each with the point of law it proves and the paragraphs that show it.

A skeleton argument example, in miniature

Here is how three numbered points might read in a children case about interim arrangements. The facts and page numbers are invented to show the shape, so your own points must come from your own bundle.

Point 3 relies on statute, so it names the section. The general principle on delay is in section 1(2) of the Children Act 1989. Notice what the points leave out: the history of the relationship, which belongs in the case summary, and any fact the bundle does not already prove.

Check what your skeleton argument needs for your hearing

Three answers settle most of what the rules ask of you: the kind of hearing, your side of it and whether a lawyer is preparing the document. Choose yours to see the rules that apply, each stamped with the paragraph to check it against.

Where a skeleton goes wrong

Most problems start when the skeleton tries to do another document’s job. Retold history and long quotations give the judge more to read and less to use.

The practice directions name the habits to drop. A position statement must not quote documents at length or bring in new evidence (PD27A, para 7.18), and the skeleton beside it is no place for them either. Every argument in your skeleton also needs a document reference (PD30A, para 5.17). When the bundle is updated for a later hearing, an out-of-date skeleton comes out of it (PD27A, para 7.16).

Financial cases add a costs trap. If you intend to ask for a costs order, you should ordinarily say so in open correspondence or in your written argument before the hearing (PD28A, para 4.5). Our guide to Calderbank offers explains how open and private offers affect costs.

On appeal, our guide to appealing a child arrangements order shows where the skeleton fits among the steps. Our guide to grounds for appeal in family court covers the errors an appeal court can put right.

Skeleton argument: frequently asked questions

General information about the law in England and Wales, not advice on your circumstances.