Lorna Elliott

Verified via Bar Standards Board register + LinkedIn
Practising barrister (LLB Hons), called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2003. Head of Legal Practice at Hackett & Dabbs LLP, Waterlooville, Hampshire. Specialises in human rights, public law and judicial review, with experience across criminal law, prison law and family law matters. Also trains other barristers in advocacy. Verified on the Bar Standards Board register as Mrs Lorna Hackett (formerly Lorna Elliott).

Articles by Lorna Elliott on Help, Advice & Support for Separated Fathers

Duty of Care: When Your Solicitor Won't Contact You
Duty of Care: When Your Solicitor Won't Contact You
Your solicitor has a legal duty to respond to you—here's what to do if they won't.
Relationship Breakdown: 'Lies' About Behaviour
Relationship Breakdown: 'Lies' About Behaviour
When relationships end badly, false accusations often fly, here's why most claims made during divorce are untrue.
How Do I Find My Children's New Address?
How Do I Find My Children's New Address?
Use a tracing agent to find your ex-partner's address quickly, usually for around £50 and often completed the same day.
Can I Leave the CSA and Come to a Private Arrangement?
Can I Leave the CSA and Come to a Private Arrangement?
You can leave the Child Support Agency and set up a private child maintenance arrangement with the other parent instead.
Ask the Expert: Holidays Abroad with Your Child After Separation
Ask the Expert: Holidays Abroad with Your Child After Separation
How to handle holidays abroad with your child during family court proceedings and separation agreements.
Misuse of Maintenance Payments
Misuse of Maintenance Payments
Child maintenance payments go to the resident parent, but there's little you can do if you think your ex is misusing the money.
Who Qualifies for Legal Aid?
Who Qualifies for Legal Aid?
You might qualify for legal aid if you're on certain benefits, but income and savings limits apply even if you're not.
Applying for a Residence Order (Custody): Court Procedure
Applying for a Residence Order (Custody): Court Procedure
How to apply for a child arrangements order in court and what the process involves for UK parents.
Being Falsely Accused of Child Abuse
Being Falsely Accused of Child Abuse
What happens when Social Services investigates a child abuse accusation and how it affects your parental rights and your child's records.
Cafcass Staff: A Broad Cross Section of Society?
Cafcass Staff: A Broad Cross Section of Society?
Cafcass staff are mostly female and middle-class, raising questions about whether they truly represent all families in the court system.
Being Falsely Accused of Domestic Violence
Being Falsely Accused of Domestic Violence
False accusations of domestic violence can lead to arrest, conviction and prison time even with little evidence.
The Equality Act 2010: What It Can Do for You
The Equality Act 2010: What It Can Do for You
The Equality Act 2010 protects you from discrimination at work, in education, transport and associations, with extra safeguards for disabled people and carers.
Divorce and Perverting the Course of Justice
Divorce and Perverting the Course of Justice
Forging signatures on divorce papers or tampering with court documents can result in criminal charges and prison time.
Divorce and Contempt of Court
Divorce and Contempt of Court
Being held in contempt of court during divorce proceedings can result from disobeying orders or disrupting the courtroom.
Divorce and Perjury
Divorce and Perjury
Lying under oath in divorce court is perjury, but proving it's difficult when it's one person's word against the other.
Alternative Dispute Resolution Scheme: Template
Alternative Dispute Resolution Scheme: Template
Get a template letter to start the Alternative Dispute Resolution process without going to court.
The End of a Relationship: What Went Wrong?
The End of a Relationship: What Went Wrong?
Most relationships end through slow decay caused by poor communication, stress and incompatible goals, though sudden shocks can also trigger a breakup.
Coping with Life as a Separated Dad
Coping with Life as a Separated Dad
Practical tips for separated dads to build strong relationships with their kids and handle co-parenting with ease.
How to Change Your Life After Separation
How to Change Your Life After Separation
Moving past separation means changing what you believe about yourself, not just what you think about your future.
Benefits System and Shared Parenting
Benefits System and Shared Parenting
How shared parenting affects child benefit and maintenance payments when parents separate.
Equality in Family Courts: Letter to the PM
Equality in Family Courts: Letter to the PM
Separated fathers call on UK government to address inequality in family courts where dads get limited access to their children.
Buying Presents for Your Kids
Buying Presents for Your Kids
How to avoid guilt-driven spending and gift-giving wars after divorce by focusing on what actually matters to your kids.
Being Falsely Accused of Rape
Being Falsely Accused of Rape
False rape accusations are hard to disprove but convictions are rare, and allegations often come down to one person's word against another's.
Using a Barrister in Family Cases
Using a Barrister in Family Cases
When you need a barrister for family law, understand how their duties to the court differ from solicitors and what their court expertise means for your case.
Our Kids' Reaction to Our Separation: A Case Study
Our Kids' Reaction to Our Separation: A Case Study
How two children handled their parents' separation while their dad struggled with guilt and financial hardship.
What Are My Chances of 50/50 Residence?
What Are My Chances of 50/50 Residence?
Courts decide 50/50 custody based on what's best for the child, not fixed rules, and taking legal action carries risks you need to weigh carefully.
Matrimonial Home: What Are My Rights?
Matrimonial Home: What Are My Rights?
Your wife may have a claim on your home even if it's in your name, and the court recognises non-financial contributions to marriage.
Lobby Your MP About Fathers' Rights
Lobby Your MP About Fathers' Rights
Use our free letter builder to effectively contact your MP about fathers' rights and family court concerns.
Specific Issue Orders
Specific Issue Orders
A Specific Issue Order lets you ask the family court to decide parental matters you can't agree on with your ex, from education to relocation.
Representing Yourself in Court
Representing Yourself in Court
You can represent yourself in family court, and judges expect it—here's what you need to know.
What Happens at Family Court?
What Happens at Family Court?
Family Court handles adoption, child custody, and care cases in a less formal setting than traditional courts, so here's what to expect.
Parental Alienation: What the Courts Say
Parental Alienation: What the Courts Say
How UK courts handle parental alienation and what happens when one parent systematically turns a child against the other.
No-Fault Divorce: What It Means for Fathers
No-Fault Divorce: What It Means for Fathers
No-fault divorce in England and Wales removed blame from the process, changing how fathers navigate custody and separation since April 2022.