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Published: 8th August 2018
The Ministry of Justice have said they are considering reforms to the divorce system in England and Wales following the landmark Owens v Owens case. Mrs Owens has had her divorce petition and subsequent appeal rejected, even though the judge has acknowledge that her marriage to Mr Owens has broken down.
Published: 10th July 2018
The Supreme Court has unanimously ruled in favour of civil partnership campaigners Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan, labelling the ban on civil partnerships for opposite-sex couples as 'discriminatory' and a breach of human rights.
Published: 20th June 2018
The House of Lords passed the Divorce (Financial Provision) Bill through its second reading in January 2017, and although as of yet there is no set date for the Committee stage, the Bill is likely to have a significant impact on the divorce landscape in England and Wales. The Bill is considered to be designed to bring laws in England and Wales in line with those in Scotland, following admiration for laws in the North; but what impact will the Bill have on finances in divorce?
Published: 6th June 2018
According to leading children’s charity Barnardo’s, children affected by domestic violence and abuse require specialist help in order to learn how to cope with the trauma and live a normal life. Barnardo’s are very experienced in working closely with cases of domestic abuse, offering a total of 14 specialist domestic abuse services. From their own research, they suggest that children that come from families where domestic abuse occurs are likely to be affected for the rest of their lives, as well as being vulnerable in different ways too. Whilst there are many different services throughout the UK that focus on working closely with adults experiencing domestic abuse, it is thought that there isn’t a big enough focus on the trauma that children suffer as part of it.
Published: 1st June 2018
Following the trial of an online divorce pilot, the Courts Service have stated that they will produce a new digital family law service, providing clients and lawyers with a range of benefits which will make the whole process much simpler. One of the key features is that lawyers will be able to submit petitions for their clients, which is likely to lead to fewer errors that currently occur on a regular basis.
Published: 2nd May 2018
According to a new report released by the Nuffield Foundation, couples within divorce proceedings are taking part in ineffective court battles that are completely unnecessary, due to the lack of no-fault divorces within England and Wales. Led by Professor Liz Trinder of Exeter University, the Nuffield Foundation conducted a study consisting of 500 divorces, finding that many of couples who has been through a divorce were forced into cases that the law itself instigated.
Published: 26th April 2018
The Pensions Advisory Group has published two reports based on the legal issues of pensions in divorce cases, following a ‘Pensions of Divorce’ study which was funded by the Nuffield Foundationand backed by the Cardiff University School of Law and Politics.
Published: 19th April 2018
Earlier this month, at the BASPCAN 10th International Congress at the University of Warwick, the Senior President of Tribunals, Sir Ernest Ryder, spoke aboutthe justice system and thepart it plays in decision-making for children. Sir Ernest Ryder focused on the approach that is currently in place in relation to children, as well as how evidence influences judicial decisions.
Published: 12th April 2018
The latest figures, released by the Ministry of Justice, show that an increasing number of grandparents are going to court to secure the right to see their own grandchildren. Grandparents can play a significant role in the lives of their grandchildren and so iftheir own child and partner separate a difficult situation may arise with regard to access and contact with grandchildren, leading them to take relevant action.
Published: 26th March 2018
When granting a parental order to a couple where one of the partners is gay, Sir James Munby said that a sexual relationship is not a requirement for a valid marriage in relation to parental orders in surrogacy cases. The case was based on requirements for a parental order under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, with Munby passing a swift judgement outlining the requirements for what is considered a valid marriage.
Published: 20th March 2018
In a recent case involving a former husband and wife, Mr Justice Cobb granted an appeal made by the wife during financial remedy proceedings regarding an interim order for the sale of the couple’s former matrimonial home. When the couple separated, the wife continued to live in the matrimonial home, while the husband moved into a holiday home they owned.
Published: 8th March 2018
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently released a report on marriages within England and Wales in 2015, looking at the overall number of marriages by sex, age, previous marriages and whether the marriage involved a religious or civil ceremony.
Published: 1st March 2018
The Supreme Court has highlighted the struggles that lower courts face when dealing with cases of international child abduction. In 'the matter of C (Children)’, the Supreme Court was requested to consider how an application under the Hague Convention may come into effect if a child has become a permanent resident in the destination state. In addition, the Supreme Court looked at whether there was a wrongful retention if the child has been removed from their home country after the agreed period of absence had expired.
Published: 19th February 2018
The Government has recently announced that it is to test a new online divorce application, which is designed to make the whole process much simpler and far less stressful for families navigating through the divorce process in England and Wales. Industry experts and organisations have long been calling for a revamp of the family justice system, with an eye on it becoming in line with today's society and better suited to supporting modern families.
Published: 12th February 2018
A UK judge has described a divorce battle between a rich couple as a ‘waste of court time’, with the couple having spent almost a third of their wealth on lawyer fees already. The couple have assets worth more than £6.5m, of which £2m has now been spent throughout the divorce process, with a further £200,000 expected to be spent should the case go to court
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