By Lucy Loizou
Date: 20 Dec 2022
The concept of ‘no fault divorce’ was finally introduced in England and Wales on 6th April 2022. The law now provides that the only ground for divorce/dissolution is irretrievable breakdown. It has removed the “blame game” for couples seeking a divorce.
Date: 19 Dec 2022
In the majority of cases child maintenance is determined exclusively by the formula prescribed by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS). In summary it is a percentage of the paying parent’s income with deductions for overnight care. But there are some exceptions where the English family court may have the power to make orders in relation to child maintenance. These include:
By James Netto
Date: 30 Nov 2022
By way of his judgment of Q v R, Mr Justice Williams ordered the summary return of a child, "E" to Ukraine. This is the first reported case of an abducted child being returned to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
Date: 23 Nov 2022
1. Introduction
By James Netto
Date: 22 Nov 2022
Concerns are growing for three British children, Khalid, Aasiyah and Maimunha Aljehani, who have been removed from England to Libya by their father. The mother initially agreed to the children going on holiday with their father to North Yorkshire; it has now been established that the father removed the children to Libya, where they remain.
Date: 14 Nov 2022
David Hodson OBE KC(Hons) MCIArb spoke at the conference of the International Mediation Awareness based in Dublin, on the importance of having an international family mediation profession.
Date: 27 Sep 2022
I was fortunate enough to spend a couple of weeks in Australia last month with David Hodson visiting some of our family lawyer friends in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth along with Singapore. Within our practice we work on many Anglo/Australian cases, so I already had a good understanding of many of the similarities and differences in our systems. There is however no substitute for seeing and speaking with people in person and it was fascinating to experience and discuss many of the pros and cons of our respective countries. We were also able to give a presentation to several law firms on English family law.
Date: 08 Aug 2022
Executive summary
Date: 02 Aug 2022
Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 of 25 June 2019 on jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, and on international child abduction (recast) (otherwise known as 'Brussels IIa Recast') came into operation in the EU on 1 August 2022
By James Netto
Date: 15 Jul 2022
The President of the Family Division has very recently handed down his decision in this matter of:
Re: S (A Child) (Jurisdiction) [2022] EWHC 1720 (Fam), in which we acted for the successful applicant mother. Whilst the facts of the case are unique, the judgment serves as a helpful reminder of the jurisdictional framework of international children cases following our departure from the European Union.
By James Netto
Date: 12 Apr 2022
Whilst the welfare checklist is familiar ground for practitioners, two new cases have brought into sharp focus how the views of children can make a real difference to an outcome of the case. The first is AE and JE v M [2021] EWHC 1957 (Fam) and the second is Re A & B (Rescission of Order: Change in Circumstances) [2021] EWFC 76 – in both cases, the children acted as applicants, seeking for a significant change of orders after they had been made.
Date: 06 Apr 2022
From today (6 April) there will be a huge change in the way couples divorce in England & Wales when the new no-fault divorce law pursuant to the divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 comes into effect.
Date: 29 Mar 2022
From 6 April 2022 England and Wales has a new divorce law, so-called no-fault. It is the most significant divorce law change since 1969. It introduces an entirely new basis of obtaining a divorce and a new timetable. It will have different consequences for the applicant and the respondent. It allows joint petitions and joint applications for the final divorce. Service will be invariably by email as default service method. In any event, divorce itself is now an almost entirely online process. Nevertheless, however welcome this new law, there are significant flaws in its operation and application, particularly with the adverse impact on the respondent. This note looks at some of these pitfalls in practice.
By Annie Boxer
Date: 25 Mar 2022
The case of Randhawa v Randhawa (Divorce: Decree Absolute, Set Aside, Forgery) [2022] EWFC B7 which came before HHJ Moradifar is most definitely an interesting case, and whilst the facts of this case might not represent many family situations, with increasing numbers of international couples, the issue of whether a divorce is valid is far more common than many think.
Date: 22 Mar 2022
Civil partnerships were initially introduced in England in 2004 for same sex couples, who were unable to marry. Although the legal rights for civil partners were akin to those of married couples, same sex marriage was introduced ten years later, in 2014.
Date: 08 Mar 2022
From 6 April 2022 England and Wales has a new divorce law, so-called no-fault. It is the most significant divorce law change since 1969. It introduces an entirely new basis of obtaining a divorce and a new timetable. It will have different consequences for the applicant and the respondent. It allows joint petitions and joint applications for the final divorce. Service will be invariably by email as default service method. In any event, divorce itself is now an almost entirely online process. However it is the rules which will be of curcial importance in practice and this note explores some of the important changes for practitioners.
Date: 03 Mar 2022
From 6 April 2022 there will be a huge change in the way couples divorce in England & Wales when the new no-fault divorce law pursuant to the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 comes into effect.
Date: 02 Mar 2022
With awards of annual bonuses for many fast approaching and predictions that bonuses in the banking sector this year will be high; this article considers how bonus payments are dealt with upon divorce and for how long after separation they might be shared with a former spouse or civil partner.
Date: 01 Mar 2022
This article updates answers in 2022 regarding points originally posed to Lucy Greenwood by BBB in February 2020, shortly after heterosexual civil partnerships were introduced to England.
Date: 28 Feb 2022
The new no-fault divorce law pursuant to the divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 comes into effect on 6 April 2022 and applies to marriage, civil partnership and nullity cases, but what about the practicalities surrounding the filing of existing applications prior to 6 April 2022?
Date: 28 Feb 2022
It is essential for all Jewish wives to ensure their husbands grant them a Get (a Jewish divorce) as well as a civil divorce.
Date: 23 Feb 2022
A recent court decision (reported as P and Q) from the lead judge for the London Financial Remedies Court has provided invaluable guidance on the treatment of loans from friends and family members within financial remedy proceedings on divorce.
Date: 31 Jan 2022
Some Embassies and Consulates in London perform marriages within their buildings in accordance with their own domestic law. Whilst this may be permitted according to the law of the country of the embassy or consulate, these marriages may not be recognised in English law. This may have very significant adverse consequences for the couple concerned.
Date: 31 Jan 2022
Conduct remains an area in which public and client perceptions vary widely from how case law has developed in the area. This article examines the historical background for conduct as a facet of the divorce process, analyses how conduct is applied by the Courts as a factor within financial proceedings and examines comparable international jurisdictions.
Date: 24 Jan 2022
The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, but the law stayed the same until 11 PM on 31 December 2020. From that time onwards, EU laws no longer applied in England and Wales in respect of new proceedings. But the consequence of transitional arrangements is that EU laws will continue to apply for many years, perhaps decades, in respect of proceedings already commenced before the end of 2020. This will have long term impact. All family lawyers with a case involving a connection between England and Wales on one hand and an EU member state on the other hand need to be aware of these aspects. For anyone with a divorce, maintenance order or children order it is important to know whether it may be automatically recognised and effective. This summary note sets out some of the consequences. The full background and explanatory guidance is set out in “Family law leaves the EU: a summary guide for practitioners” (LEXIS-NEXIS) by the author.
Date: 17 Jan 2022
In many instances when a marriage breaks down the spouses only have a connection with one country and the divorce and financial proceedings take place there. But what happens when one or both people have a connection with more than one country?
Date: 13 Jan 2022
Prof David Hodson writes about the new no-fault divorce law coming into force in April 2022, drawing attention to its significant benefits but also highlighting some of the problems likely to occur in practice.
By Lucy Loizou
Date: 12 Jan 2022
When going through a divorce it is common to experience the fear of being left penniless by your spouse. This may be because he or she will dispose of assets so that no money is left to divide on divorce or by doing things such as transferring property into someone else's name, emptying bank or investment accounts, disposing of crypto-currency or recklessly spending. This is something that family lawyers often come across. When emotions are running high it is hard to distinguish between an empty threat and an actual premeditated plan. There is often a very fine line and it requires careful consideration with a specialist lawyer.
