Family mediation: In conversation with Mary Raymont
Ahead of National Mediation Week commencing on 16th January, Today’s Family Lawyer spoke with Mary Raymont of Advantage Mediation on the role mediators play in family law – both now and in the future. What is family mediation? Family mediation is a voluntary approach to achieve solutions for families involving an independent mediator. This approach […]
Conveyancers: The key to solving cohabitation disputes?
With UK marriage rate dropping in recent years, an increasing number of young couples choose to cohabit rather than “tie the knot”. With finances stretched due to increases in the cost of living, and salaries not matching that increase, many couples are choosing to live together and, importantly, pool their resources to get a much […]
Family law: What to expect in 2023
Divorce, parental alienation, cohabitation, surrogacy – just a handful of the areas that were under family law’s microscope in 2022. However, the law – and with it the economy, society, and technology – seldom stands still. With this in mind, there is much to consider as family lawyers look towards 2023. Here are the thoughts […]
Are UK beneficial ownership registers incompatible with fundamental human rights?
The UK Government has legislated to provide for three corporate beneficial ownership registers that must be kept up to date on pain of criminal and civil sanctions to make it more difficult to hide illicit wealth. However, similar registers maintained in the EEA have been held to be unlawful by the European Court of Justice […]
Hinduja v Hinduja judgment
The Court of Protection (CoP) usually sits in public but with reporting restrictions which generally prevent anyone including the media naming the protected party, P, (or any of the other parties who would identify them). The aim is to strike a balance between open justice and a vulnerable person’s right to privacy but has led […]
The Ombudsman’s Corner: 16th December 2022
In my last column, I explained how and why our Scheme Rules are changing on 1st April 2023, setting out the main changes – our time limits, our discretion to dismiss or discontinue complaints which are within our jurisdiction in certain circumstances, and the introduction of discretion to decline to pass a complaint onto an […]
Today’s Family Lawyer Podcast: 2022 Round-Up
2022 saw the launch of the Today’s Family Lawyer Podcast. In a short space of time it has already achieved nearly 300 downloads and dealt with issues as wide ranging as baby-loss awareness, cohabitation and “the good divorce.” In 2023 the podcast will continue to profile individuals and businesses in the family law community, raising […]
Proposal for EU regulation on parenthood and the creation of a European Certificate of Parenthood
The law of legal parenthood does not join up internationally. This, however, may change for EU member states (with the possible exception of Denmark) if the Council, after consulting the European Parliament, passes a proposed regulation. The European Commission recently produced a proposal for a regulation which seeks to provide legal certainty in the cross border […]
Settlement for dependent parents: Appendix EU v. Appendix FM
Both Appendix EU and Appendix FM provide routes to settlement in the UK for dependent parents. Whilst the focus of this post will be on dependent parents, it should be noted that Appendix EU contains provisions relating to other types of dependent relatives and that Appendix FM relates, not just to dependent parents, but the […]
Forum shopping & divorce tourism
Recently, Clarissa Pierburg, the former wife of one of Europe’s richest men, Jürgen Pierburg, won her High Court battle to divorce in England on the basis that she was domiciled here. Her initial attempts to issue here were met with failure, as she could not provide legally sufficient grounds to so do. To be successful […]
British citizenship for children of unmarried parents
Historically, if a father was not married to a child’s mother, he could not pass on his British nationality automatically to his child. This meant that if a child was considered “illegitimate” and had a British father, they could not acquire their citizenship unless the mother was British or settled. This was the case even […]
Who keeps the dog?
Getting a divorce is undoubtably a stressful time, however even more so when deciding upon the division of pets. The emotional attachment we build with our pets can be argued to mirror that of a family member or child in some cases, so deciding who is going to keep them upon divorce can result in […]
Divorce in the partnership – an exploration of the issues which arise when law or accountancy firm partners divorce
When equity partners in a law or accountancy firm (or those with a lawyer or accountant spouse) divorce, careful consideration needs to be given to the partner’s financial position and the disclosure required to understand and corroborate it. The starting point in financial negotiations is the production of the Form E. The Form E should […]
The key factors impacting divorce rates in England & Wales
The ONS statistics on divorces in England and Wales in 2021 have been released today. It was anticipated that there may be a downturn in the number of applications for divorce in 2021, prior to the long-awaited and much publicised introduction of the new “no fault” divorce regime which was introduced in April 2022. Certainly […]
What is the “Good Divorce”?
With Resolution’s “Good Divorce Week” in full swing this episode of the Today’s Family Lawyer podcast sees host David Opie speak with Annabel Andreou, a family divorce lawyer at Debenhams Ottaway about the ins and outs of a “Good Divorce.” Annabel discusses her thoughts on what a “Good Divorce” might look and feel like from […]
Top tips to recession-proof your divorce advice
An economic downturn undoubtedly adds challenges and stress to every situation and will have an impact on families and their relationships. As family lawyers, our role is to collaborate and support divorcing couples through these difficult times but it doesn’t come without complications. Valuing couples assets during recession A volatile market and things changing so […]
Uncapping bankers’ bonuses: Implications for divorce settlements
Couples going through or contemplating divorce, should consider how uncapping bankers’ bonuses in the UK will affect financial settlements. The author of this article spells out the issues in play. One of the changes made by the short-lived UK government of Liz Truss and her finance minister, aka Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, was removing the salary […]
Good Divorce Week 2022: Resolving disputes away from court
This year, Resolution’s initiative “Good Divorce Week” is centred around raising awareness of the different ways in which parties can resolve their disputes outside of the court process. This focus has been prompted in recent months (and years) by a family court system in crisis, with huge backlogs on administrative matters and long waiting times for […]
Cohabitation – The myth of the common law spouse
The government’s decision to reject almost all proposals for cohabitation law reform put forward in the Women and Equalities Committee’s recent report may be the result of an administration with bigger fish to fry but is disappointing nonetheless. In this latest podcast from Today’s Family Lawyer, host David Opie speaks with Hunter Law LLP Partner Richard Kershaw […]
“Millennial Divorces” – harder than traditional separations?
One of the most prevalent legal myths is that of the “common law” husband or wife. The stark legal reality is that no such concept exists. This is irrespective of how long a couple have lived together, whether they purchased a property together, or whether they have children together. If a couple are married, or […]