Re-assessing maintenance payments in the current climate – what lawyers need to know
According to the House of Commons report on the rising costs of living in the UK, published 8th February 2022, in December 2021 inflation reached its highest recorded level since 1992. It is hard to ignore the press coverage of the steady rise in food costs, energy and fuel prices. As of February this year, […]
Making “alternative” dispute resolution the norm
Dispute resolution is a fundamental part of a family lawyer’s job. The old acronym of ADR no longer rings true. Dispute resolution should not be “alternative” – it should be the focus for family law practitioners, with a court application one of last resort, rather than a first step in seeking to resolve a dispute. […]
Government extends the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme with further £1.2 million investment
Last March, the government launched a Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, with an initial investment of £1 million. This week, they announced a second funding boost for the continuation of the scheme, following a cash injection last October. The vouchers, which are worth £500 towards the cost of mediation, were introduced as an incentive for separating […]
Start the year amicably – how to help your clients to divorce amicably
The beginning of the year always brings with it enquiries in relation to relationship breakdowns. The end of the old year is often a period of reflection and the New Year an opportunity for change. No one wants conflict and acrimony when they are working through all the changes that the end of a marriage […]
Parallel parenting
As family lawyers, we often use the term co-parenting but what about those high conflict cases when this is just not possible? This is where parallel parenting comes in. Why not simply co-parent? Particularly in high conflict intractable parental disputes, there may be a desire for either the father or the mother to oust the […]
Resolving agricultural divorce
Agricultural divorces can be “notoriously difficult to resolve” (Wilson J in R v R [2004] FLR 98). There is often a departure from equality in farming divorces due to the non-matrimonial nature of some farming assets. For example, a farm that has been gifted, inherited and/or in the family for generations, in the expectation that it […]
The impact of divorce and separation on employees – “divorces are made in heaven”
This is an inversion of the cliché phrase ”a marriage made in heaven” to signify the unhappiness that can be experienced in staying in an unhappy marriage, as penned by Oscar Wilde in, The Importance of Being Earnest. Interestingly, Wilde did not actually agree that it was important to be earnest at all and rather […]
Domestic abuse; a gap in the treatment of the law?
The discordant and disproportionate ways the criminal law, private law children and public law children systems treat domestic abuse The criminal law, private law children, and public law children systems treat domestic abuse cases and those embroiled in them, including children, in discordant and disproportionate ways. I was struck by this thought when writing a […]
Social Media. What NOT to Say – 5 Key Rules
Over the last few months, we have seen a number of stories breaking in the news that have proven fantastic for law firms and others, well not so useful. Social Media can be a hot bed for various discussions, where many opinions can be voiced. People are very passionate over social media, but sometimes that […]
Provision of domestic violence specialist advisors
As Team Leader in the Children and Domestic Violence Team, I am shocked to read that only three police forces have enough specially trained domestic abuse advisors (according to a report for the Government from the charity SafeLives). The hope with this article is to highlight the dangerous effects of such shortages and what can […]
Cohabitating couples: building financial resilience on relationship breakdown
This is the second in a series of articles exploring the steps that can be taken to combat the potential risks to personal wealth that can be suffered on relationship breakdown. This article explores the financial risks facing unmarried couples who live together and what steps can be taken to mitigate the financial impact on […]
Supervision: The ‘Repair Shop’ for Family Lawyers
My client, a senior associate, revealed that she was struggling at work. She described: lacking motivation, doubting her professional judgement, losing confidence, sleeping badly and not even enjoying her time off. Working in family law can bring many pressures which take their toll. As a result, some lawyers consider leaving the profession. For this reason, […]
Divorce: Minimizing risk on a financial settlement
This is the first in a series of articles exploring the steps that can be taken to combat the potential risks to personal wealth that can be suffered on a relationship breakdown. It explores some steps that can be taken to mitigate the financial impact, and build up some financial resilience, in the event of […]
The no fault divorce: handle with care
Tanya Foster, Family Law Consultant at LSL Family Law shares her thoughts on no-fault divorce and the advice those in the profession could share with clients. The journey so far So many divorces start off on the wrong footing, and it can be hard to clamber back from the precipice of complete distrust and antagonism. […]
Brangelina divorce bill skyrockets
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie two of the world’s superstars, are estimated to have spent more than $1m each on their respective lawyers as the fall out from their spectacularly nasty 2016 split continues unabated. They have been fighting each other longer than they were married and the legal bills are apparently skyrocketing. It is […]
The tax consequences of separation
By James Ward, Head of Private Client, and Jane Keir, Partner in Family & Divorce at Kingsley Napley LLP. The last 12 months have put an awful lot of pressure on the family unit and sadly this has led to a spike in separation and divorce amongst married couples. With the end of the tax […]
The importance of setting boundaries
When their relationship breaks down, our clients are dealing with a turmoil of emotions, which often leaves them confused and vulnerable. To make matters worse, some boundaries in their new lives can become blurred. For example, one ex-partner kept his bikes at my client’s house, another returned there for his daily shower; both clearly exerting […]
How a divorce coach can support family solicitors
How a divorce coach can support and add value to the work of family solicitors…….. For 10 years now, I have been working exclusively with clients going through painful separations. My work is referred by family solicitors. Their feedback confirms my belief that my role supports and complements their legal work. ‘I want to help […]
Should law firms rethink their agile working strategy?
2021 dawned with positive news for a change. With vaccination programs up and running in many parts of the country, there is a sense of optimism in the air, even as we continue to endure this latest lockdown. Most of us have gotten used to working from home by now – the ‘office at home’ […]
AML Risks – why did I agree to be the MLRO?!
This is a question I ask myself many times each day since being appointed the MLRO for Weightmans in May 2020! Faced with the current economic uncertainties caused by the pandemic, Brexit, new AML risks identified by the SRA in its Risk Outlook 2020/2021 including the shift from face to face to on-line identification/verification procedures, […]