ChatGPT used to generate ‘alarming’ fake cases in high-profile Vancouver divorce highlights the danger of accidental misuse of AI tools in court
British Columbian lawyer Chong Ke has been ordered to pay costs to a claimant’s lawyers after it was discovered that the use of AI tool ChatGPT was used to accidentally fabricate cases for her client in a high-profile divorce battle between Chinese business tycoon Wei Chen and his ex-wife Nina Zhang. If the cases had […]
Pilot Scheme Launched For Affordable Advice
An online pilot scheme has been launched that will help separating couples by providing affordable advice at crucial points in the separating process. Blending an online guide from Law for Life’s Advicenow website as well as offline advice from a panel of Resolution family lawyers, the ‘Affordable Advice’ will deliver affordable fixed fee, price transparency […]
Social Media Plays Part In Divorce
Social media has seen the downfall of a property tycoon, who informed his ex-wife – who was in the process of obtaining a divorce – that she should sell her engagement ring to maintain her way of life. Preston Haskell IV (53) and ex-wife Alesia Vladimirovna (39), enjoyed the finer things in life during their […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Coming Out As Gay After A Heterosexual Marriage
The news that Philip Schofield has come out as gay, spread like wildfire through news outlets. The 57-year-old, loveable presenter has witnessed countless people from all walks of life, arrive on his ‘This Morning’ sofa and tell their stories of their personal bravery and struggles, whilst battling his own personal struggle. The presenter stated that […]
Resolution Shows Its Support For Divorce Bill Ahead Of Second Reading
Resolution lends its support to the Divorce Bill in a parliamentary briefing, ahead of the Bill’s second reading in the House of Lords today, the 5th February. Resolution, representing 6,500 family justice professionals, has thrown its support behind the Bill, stating that it “will help thousands of divorcing couples minimise conflict, in turn reducing the […]
Parliamentary Briefing Issued By Law Society On No-Fault Divorce
The Law Society has published its Parliamentary briefing on the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill, more commonly known as the Divorce Bill. Giving its ‘unequivocal support in the introduction to the Divorce Bill, welcoming the introduction of the no-fault divorce. Throughout discussions on the subject, the Law Society has always been ‘vocal’ in its support. […]
An Amicable Financial Settlement
Non-lawyer preparation of a consent order The extent to which a non-lawyer (called ‘amicable’ – all lower case) can help a couple jointly to prepare and file a financial consent order application has been explained by Mostyn J in JK v MK & Anor [2020] EWFC 2 (20 January 2020). But can this model work […]
Private Member Bills That Are Set To Return In 2020
8 days after the General Election, the day following the State Opening, the ballot was held to allocate the order in which private member’s bills will be introduced to the House of Lords. For the first time, the ballot was drawn by students from the Education Centre. Private member’s bills are draft laws that have […]
What A Conservative Government Means To Family Law
The Conservatives’ ‘less is more’ approach to the election campaign has more than paid off gaining 47 seats and taking a majority government with 364 seats in the House of Commons whilst also relegating the Labour Party to their worst defeat since 1935. With the largest win since the Thatcher Governments, we look back at the Conservative manifesto to […]
Large Decrease In Divorce Applications Due To ‘Administrative Reasons’?
Recent figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have shown a large decrease in divorce rates in 2018, the lowest rate in 48 years. In 2018 there were 90,871 divorces of opposite sex couples, a decrease of 10.6% on the previous year. The downward trend has also been consistent with the decline in […]
General Attorney Appeals Landmark Case Regarding Islamic Marriages
This month saw Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox, intervene in a case whereby a family court judge had decided a woman in a faith marriage, was entitled to apply for maintenance payment after a separation, despite the fact the marriage was not legal. Nasreen Akhter and Mohammed Shabaz Khan had a Nikah, an Islamic wedding ceremony, in front of 150 guests in 1998, but in 2016 […]
Ensuring Full And Frank Disclosure
It is not surprising to any divorce lawyer that when it comes to splitting finances in a divorce, things can become ugly very quickly. Surprisingly, large numbers of cases involve some form of distorting figures. There are currently stories in headline news where there are allegations of hiding business assets and purposefully reducing income to decrease […]
The Greatest Financial Risks For Women
While women are increasingly better educated than men, they earn less, feel less financially secure, provide the bulk of unpaid care, have smaller pensions, face greater hardship in later life and struggle to pay for their own old-age care a new report has found. A report published by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), has found that […]
