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 […]
Final report received from family courts working group
The final report from the working group set up by the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, to look at the issues around medical experts in the family courts has now been published. Mr. Justice Williams was appointed to chair the working group, with representation from the legal profession, Royal Medical Colleges […]
The relocation of a child – when a parent moves abroad
When parents separate, it’s not uncommon for one of them to want to move away from the area where they resided with the other. In some cases, this may involve moving the child(ren) of the family to another country, which can naturally lead to issues. In a recent case, which involves a mother who […]
No Fault Divorce Bill receives Royal assent
When a marriage breaks down, the parties involved are often driven to blame each other for the breakdown of the relationship in order to achieve a divorce more quickly. It has also been assumed that blaming the other spouse may lead to a better financial settlement or a more favourable agreement over the children. […]
Contact during the coronavirus pandemic
We are certainly going through difficult times at the moment, and I hope that you are well, and that the current coronavirus situation isn’t causing you too much stress. As a family lawyer, I have been asked about how the current rules about social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic might affect any current arrangements that […]
Social Media boasts cost in divorce settlement
Social media has much to answer for; and one property tycoon probably rues the day that he shared images of his lavish lifestyle. The tycoon, who was in the process of obtaining a divorce, informed his ex that she should sell her engagement ring to maintain her way of life, but the images of […]