A pension sharing order was recently overturned after one of the parties died – despite the executors of her estate opposing an application to set it aside. The couple, who married in 1979 and separated in 2017, had come to an amicable agreement about the husband’s pension from Shell, which was split more or less […]
Are convictions made in a foreign court admissible in UK children’s proceedings?
Until recently, convictions made in a foreign court couldn’t be used in evidence in a case that was being heard in the UK, but a recent decision made by the Court of Appeal has decided that in cases designed to protect children and which involve an analysis of welfare, rules that previously excluded them should […]
5 essential legal tasks to carry out during a divorce
Going through separation and divorce is always a difficult time, but there are some things you can do which might make the process smoother. Here are the five essential tasks you need to carry out when you decide on a divorce. The new no-fault divorce procedure removes the need to prove that the marriage has […]
Mediation Voucher Scheme extended to support more families
A new government mediation voucher scheme has been extended to help separating parents resolve disputes without taking them through the courts and is set to help many more families deal with the difficult issues that separation and divorce can create. Earlier in 2021, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) launched the mediation voucher scheme, which offers […]
Bereavement Support Payments to be extended to cohabiting parents
The bereavement of a long-term partner or spouse is difficult enough, without worrying about finances on top of everything else. Until very recently, unless you were married, or in a civil partnership, a surviving partner was unable to claim any extra financial support following a bereavement. New plans for bereavement support Under new plans […]
What happens to pets in a divorce?
We are a nation of animal lovers, and since the pandemic, more families have decided to buy a pet. A total of 3.2 million UK households have acquired a pet since March 2020, according to the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association (as of March 2021) and at the same time, Citizens Advice reports that on […]
More protections for victims of domestic abuse
The Domestic Abuse Bill has now received Royal Assent – four years after it was included in the Queen’s speech – and was signed into law on 29 April 2021. The new Bill has been widely welcomed, as it creates a new, wide-ranging legal definition of domestic abuse that goes beyond just physical violence. According […]
Capitalisation of Child Maintenance
Capitalisation of child maintenance payments does not happen very often; in fact it was described as ‘a rare bird’ in a recent case. The jurisdiction to make an order that capitalises and replaces future payments of periodical payments in favour of a child, called “commutation lump sum,” was recently confirmed by Mostyn J under […]
Breaking up the family assets when a marriage breaks down
There’s a certain amount of confusion surrounding what happens to a family’s assets when a couple divorces – especially the marital home. Although in many cases a couple can come to an amicable agreement about what should happen to the things that they owned as a married couple, in some cases, if there’s a dispute, […]
Can a child have a vaccination against a parent’s wishes?
A recent appeal heard at the High Court of Justice Family Division considered the procedure when a routine childhood vaccination is opposed by one or both parents, and found that, at least in these circumstances – yes, a child could be vaccinated against the parents’ wishes. The case involved a child, H, who was under […]