In determining whether spending no time with a non-resident parent is better than meaningless or even detrimental time spent with them, a judge is asked to intervene in life-changing circumstances where the subject of their decisions may be too young to express their own views. Their role therefore carries great power, but also great... Read More
In contemplation of any family law proceedings, it is important to consider any retirement benefits to which you or your partner may be entitled.
Pensions, whether 'defined benefit' (final salary), 'defined contribution', or 'state', can form an integral part of any settlement reached by the parties as to the division of financial assets in family... Read More
In contemplation of any family law proceedings, it is important to consider how payments are made, or will in future be made, under any pension scheme that either party may hold.
The way that a party’s retirement benefit interest is held by a pension fund, and upon maturity is paid down to the qualifying individual, is applicable to the orders... Read More
Anyone who has worked on cases that have involved domestic violence will be welcoming news that the government is planning to consult about introducing a new criminal offence. This new criminal offence will look at covering the emotional harm as well as the physical harm that is caused by patterns of behaviour and incidents of domestic... Read More
Only weeks after the “baby Gammy” scandal, where an Australian couple were publicly accused of refusing to take one of the twin babies born to the surrogate mother they had engaged, because he had Down’s syndrome, Thailand is taking action on commercial surrogacy. In the much-publicised case, the couple claimed that they... Read More
Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division, recently published his thirteenth View from the President’s Chambers: ‘The process of reform: an update’.
This consultation paper sets out, inter alia, the latest developments regarding the issues surrounding the need for greater transparency in the Family Courts, a key element of the family... Read More
The Court of Appeal was required to consider whether a parent can unilaterally change a child’s habitual residence in the recent case of Re H (Jurisdiction) EWCA Civ 1101.
The case follows on from the recent trilogy of Supreme Court cases which the Court of Appeal has affirmed to ‘represent a new departure for habitual residence’. The... Read More