XY, Re Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975

Where an application is issued in the Family Division but governed by the Civil Procedure Rules, parties should prepare hearing bundles in accordance with FPR PD27A. This applies to applications under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 and other proceedings heard in the Family Division but subject to the Civil Procedure Rules. The preliminary documents required by PD27A, including a case summary, chronology, list of issues and essential reading, are particularly important in such less frequently encountered applications.

The judgment concerned an application under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 heard in the Family Division. The claimant’s bundle contained none of a case summary, chronology, list of issues or list of essential reading.

The court was told that the claim could be issued in the Family Division under CPR 57.15, but that the Civil Procedure Rules applied. The central issue was which procedural guidance governed the preparation of bundles for such hearings.

1. Applicable bundle guidance. Although claims of this kind may be issued in the Family Division, CPR 57.15 means that the Civil Procedure Rules apply. CPR 39.5 and CPR PD39A provide for a trial bundle containing a case summary and, where appropriate, a chronology.
2. Family Division practice. For applications heard in the Family Division which are subject to the Civil Procedure Rules, parties should comply with FPR PD27A when preparing bundles for hearings in the High Court. The same approach applies to applications under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 and other similar applications.
3. Purpose and importance. FPR PD27A has been refined to promote the efficient dispatch of business in the Family Division. The preliminary documents required by it are especially important in proceedings less frequently encountered in that Division. PD4B of the Court of Protection Rules 2017 was noted as being drafted in similar terms for similar reasons.
4. The judge noted that Seagrove v Sullivan [2014] EWHC 4110 (Fam) contained similar comments concerning applications under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996.

First-instance guidance on the preparation of hearing bundles in the Family Division.