Can a court hearing be adjourned if there's been a bereavement to a close friend or family member?

Can a court hearing be adjourned if there’s been a bereavement to a close friend or family member?

Court hearings can be adjourned in certain circumstances. This means they can be rearranged to another date, dependant on court availability.

When deciding whether to adjourn a hearing, the court will consider whether it would be fair for it go ahead in all the circumstances. If it would be unfair to allow the trial to go ahead then the hearing will usually be adjourned, as long as sufficient evidence is provided in support of the application.

The court will determine whether to adjourn the hearing at their own discretion. The person asking for the adjournment will be responsible for arguing the need for the adjournment.

This also applies to remote hearings.

A bereavement of a close friend or family member could be a sufficient reason to adjourn a hearing. For example, if a hearing needs to be adjourned to attend a funeral, then the court may consider it would be unfair for it to go ahead.

This is a highly debatable area of law. If you in need of an adjournment, please contact our expert family law solicitors who are based in Wolverhampton, Cradley Heath and Sutton Coldfield and serve clients across the West Midlands.

For all new enquiries, please call 01902 328 365 or complete our online enquiry form and a member of our team will respond.