Vulnerable People Risk Losing Right To Stay In UK
A letter from the EU Justice Sub-Committee has raised concerns that children in care and other vulnerable groups face barriers when applying for the right to stay in the UK post Brexit. Addressed to MP Kevin Foster, the letter highlights the success of the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), with more than 3 million applications and […]
Domestic Violence Victims Not Safe In Family Courts
A letter signed by 130 family lawyers and family law professionals has stated that family courts are not safe for domestic violence victims due to ‘outdated views’ held by some judges. Inspired by the case last year, where a judge ruled a woman had ‘taken no physical steps’ to stop a rape, the family law […]
Further Increases To Private Law Case Applications To Cafcass
Cafcass has released its monthly statistics from April 2019 to January 2020, showing an increase in new cases and the highest demand for the month of January on record. Between April 2019 and January 2020, overall there were 2,243 more cases than was seen in the same period the year previously, an increase of 4.4%. There was a total […]
Less Stressful Application Process for Separated Parents
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) have announced the launch of a new online service to make it quicker and easier for separated parents to apply to see their children. During a pilot stage over 8,000 parents made applications and around 93% of them were satisfied or very […]
Archers Storyline Highlighting The Need For Change In Surrogacy
Popular BBC Radio 4 programme, The Archers is drawing attention to the need for a change in surrogacy law says parenting lawyer Sarah Wood-Heath. The radio programme has been running since the 1950s and has over 5 million listeners, so is a “significant show in British popular culture” and one that regularly highlights topical issues. […]
Black, Asian And Minority Ethnic Family Lawyers Under-Represented
Research from a diversity survey done by family lawyer group Resolution, has found that three-quarters of family lawyers are white women, as well as being older than the wider solicitor population. The survey took responses from 3,000 of its 6,500 members and found that only 24% of members were male. Resolution did state that it […]
Technological Pace Is UK’s CEOs Key Threat
b The 23rd CEO Survey was conducted by PwC who interviewed 1,581 CEOs in 83 countries between September and October 2019. UK CEOs expressed concerns over the fast pace at which technological change has happened and the ever-increasing threat of cyber attacks – with 80% worried about the risk of cyber threats to their firm. […]
Researchers Given Access To Rich Cafcass Databases
Researchers now will have access to the Cafcass case file data in a strategy to exchange knowledge and learning with key partners, so as to “gain a greater understanding of family justice issues and the diverse needs of children and families in family court proceedings.” Fully anonymised data on the Cafcass case files have now […]
Family Consultants
Who are we ? What do we do? Why do you need us? Happy New Year, to all existing readers and to many new ones. Today’s Family Lawyer will be bringing you a plethora of news, articles and blogs from a variety of legal professionals and also from me. As we leave the old year […]
Family Courts “A Black Hole In Relation To Data and Researchers”
Sir James Munby, former president of the family division, has spoken about the effect of section 12 on family courts. Since the withdrawal of legal aid to family cases in 2012, that have made family courts a “lawyer free zone”, the effects of section 12 are causing a “black hole” of effective scrutiny. Speaking at […]
Untreated Mental Illness Is Fuelling Divorce, Say Top Lawyers
The mental health crisis and lack of funding is fuelling divorce according to lawyers at JMW Solicitors, who have seen an increase in cases where mental illness has led to marriage breakdown. In almost half (45%) of the firm’s divorce cases in the last year, at least one person was experiencing depression and/or anxiety which […]
Law Society And Bar Council Find LeO Budget Increase Unacceptable
Following the announcement from the Legal Ombudsmen (LeO), that there would be a 20% rise in the budget, increasing it from £12.3 million to £14.8 million, the Bar Council has launched an ‘outspoken attack’. The LeO has stated that the increase in budget in the next financial year will “radically” improve the time to deal with complaints and “eliminate […]
“Shameful” 14 Year High In Domestic Homicides
The Office for National Statistics has released figures showing a shocking 27% increase in domestic homicides in 2018/2019 compared to the previous year, meaning 80 women and 16 men lost their lives to acts of violence by a partner or ex partner. In total there were 99 female and 30 male victims of domestic homicide, […]
Debate Regarding The Future Of The Adoption Support Fund
Thursday 13th February saw the debate in the House of Lords focus on the All Party Parliamentary Group for Adoption and Permanence’s report ‘Investing in families: the Adoption Support Fund beyond 2020’. The debate was proposed by Lord Russell of Liverpool, who had an interest in the debate as governor of the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children. The […]
New Support For Survivors Of Domestic Violence
The Housing Secretary has announced that the Government will provide 75 projects across England with £16.6million to help survivors of domestic abuse. The funding is part of a government drive to bolster protection for survivors of domestic abuse, alongside the eagerly awaited reintroduction of the Domestic Abuse Bill and plans to ensure every council is able to provide essential […]
How Can Adults Assume A Role In Their Partner’s Children’s Lives?
This week, BBC 1 aired the documentary ‘Becoming A Step Family’ which told the story of Rio and Kate Ferdinand and Rio’s children’s journey to becoming a step family after the death of his late wife, and the children’s mother, Rebecca, in 2015. It touched on a number of themes: life and love after loss, […]
Transferring Property Following A Financial Remedy Order: What If The Other Party Refuses To Cooperate?
A property adjustment order is one of the orders that the court has the power to make in determining financial arrangements on divorce, and this can include the transfer of property from one party to another. To put a transfer of property order into effect, it will be necessary for the parties to execute a […]
How Should Cryptoassets Be Treated Legally In Marriage And Divorce?
Cryptoassets continue to grab headlines after the recent decision by a judge in the Commercial Court who found that a cryptoasset, such as Bitcoin, was a form of property capable of being the subject of a proprietary injunction. In this case the claimant obtained an injunction against the defendants, freezing the Bitcoin. This follows on […]
Special Measures, HMCTS Funding And ‘Lay Advocates’
Today’s Family Lawyer recently reported on Re C (Lay Advocates) and on ‘lay advocates’ (surely a misnomer?) it touched on a tricky issue: funding of special measures in family proceedings and the fact that Legal Aid Agency (LAA) refused to pay in this case (which you don’t mention). Re C was a care case where […]
The Complexities Of Permanent Leave To Remove – Experiences Of A Family Lawyer
As family lawyers we speak to separated parents year-round regarding situations where they wish to take their child/children on holiday but the other parent objects to the child travelling. This can be a challenging time for a family and if a proposed holiday is imminent, emotions will be running high. When helping a family navigate […]