It was a tragic case. There were two sex workers, both with young babies. One died in a tragic cot death, and the mother, in paroxysms of grief, went in the night to the other woman’s bedside. She took the other’s gurgling, sleeping baby and left in its place, her own dead child. When it went to the authorities (and this was... Read More
The way we were: historically there was respectable marriage which conferred financial dependence and security on women. Outside, a world of defiance of convention and no rights except minimal support for the child. The way we are: cohabitation has lost stigma and become a parallel life choice. In 2016 there were 3.3 million cohabiting... Read More
There is a lot to think about when you make the life-changing decision to get divorced including, most immediately, the arrangements for the care and long term welfare of children of the family. One size most definitely does not fit all when it comes to the division of time spent by the children with each parent. The court will not have an input... Read More
Today’s announcement gives opposite-sex couples the same choices which are available to same-sex couples as to how, if at all, they formalise their partnerships. Unmarried couples do not have the same legal protection as those who marry in particular when that relationship breaks down or on the death of one party. They also miss out on... Read More
The 20th century was a century of decline for marriage. Legal changes in the thirties and then the seventies allowed people to divorce far more easily and changing attitudes began to sweep away the stigma that went with it. Since the 1970s it has become far more common for couples to live together and have children without getting married at... Read More
An absent, damaged or diseased uterus prevents embryo implantation and a successful pregnancy. However, the advent of viable uterus transplants raises searching questions about its impact on the future of infertility, fertility treatment and surrogacy. One in 5,000 women are born without a womb in the UK. Hysterectomy is still often used to... Read More
A number of stories appear on the media on forced adoption in the UK, setting out the highly emotional stories of the children being placed for adoption, against the will of loving relatives. In practice, forced adoption is the last resort step that is applied in an extreme situation, where there is no safe way for the child to stay with the... Read More
The Rt Hon Sir Andrew McFarlane has been appointed by Her Majesty The Queen as the President of the Family Division. Sir Andrew McFarlane will become president from 28 July 2017 following the retirement of Sir James Munby. In 1977 Sir Andrew McFarlane was called to the Bar by the Gray’s Inn. He became Queen’s Counsel in 1998.... Read More
The Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed Tini Owens' appeal in a case that has attracted much media attention, as it raises the question: can you be granted a divorce when you are just unhappy in your marriage? The answer, on current legislation, is no. As the law currently stands in England and Wales, a marriage is dissolved by a... Read More
Under the Civil Partnership Act 2004, only two people of the same sex can enter into a civil partnership. The ever changing and many alternative forms of family life that are recognised in society today beg the question as to whether civil partnership should be extended to couples of the opposite sex. There are some couples who may say that they... Read More