Family arbitration
By Suzanne Kingston On 22 February 2012 a new arbitration scheme was launched. The IFLA (Institute of Family Law Arbitrators) Scheme is the result of a collaboration between resolution, the Family Law...
View ArticleThree’s company: landmark case on child access and “alternative families”
By Geraldine Morris The Court of Appeal decision in A v B and another [2012] All ER (D) 119 (Mar) has inevitably attracted a great deal of press attention – newspapers love a story involving a dispute...
View ArticleGay marriage: you say potato and I say potahto
By Geraldine Morris There’s been quite a commotion about gay marriage in the last few weeks following the Government’s apparent plans to shelve or delay its introduction with MP Gerald Howarth,...
View ArticleChanges to family immigration rules: the cost of love
By Sarah Plaka Last night a panel discussion was held in the Houses of Parliament to discuss the recently announced rule changes on family migration to the UK from outside the EU. The event, entitled...
View ArticleThe Cruise divorce: interfaith parenting
By Geraldine Morris The media love a celebrity divorce so the recent news that the actor and leading member of the Church of Scientology, Tom Cruise, is to divorce for the third time has inevitably...
View ArticleDivorce – needs and non-matrimonial assets: formula or flexibility?
By Geraldine Morris The Law Commission recently published a supplemental consultation paper (Matrimonial Property, Needs and Agreements – Law Com 2012/208) following its earlier consultation on marital...
View ArticlePetrodel v Prest: hiding assets behind the corporate veil?
By Geraldine Morris For a long time family lawyers and the family courts have made the best of the creaking mechanism for financial provision that is the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) (much...
View ArticlePrest v Prest – one law for one court
By Craig Rose In a previous post, Geraldine Morris reported the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Prest v Prest. The case has caused consternation among family lawyers – one reportedly describing it as a...
View ArticleReligious courts and Sharia divorce
By Craig Rose If you glanced at the front page of The Times for 1 February, with its headline “High Court opens way to Sharia divorces”, you could have been forgiven for thinking that the court had...
View ArticleThe changing Face(book) of family law
By Lehna Hewitt and Sarah Hughes Research carried out by Divorce-Online in 2012 highlights the huge significance that social media now has to family law. The study found that one in three divorce...
View ArticleThe truth about gay marriage: legally there is nothing to be gained
By Elaine Freer The law pertaining to same-sex relationships has come a long way. Until the Sexual Offences Act 1967, homosexual relationships were illegal. Until the Civil Partnership Act 2004, there...
View ArticleGay marriage: freedom of speech and conscience
By James Hand At the beginning of 2013 11 countries allowed gay marriage to be performed. By the middle of the year that number had increased to 15 with more to come. Some states in the US and Mexico...
View ArticleAll change for the family justice system: cost-cutting is driving reform
By Geraldine Morris Earlier this month saw the delivery of the sixth View from the President’s Chambers from the Sir James Munby. It is (as were his previous “Views”) almost entirely concerned with...
View ArticleChildren and Families Bill 2013 – all change, but is it for the better?
By Lorna Borthwick The Children and Families Bill 2013 represents one of the biggest shake-ups of the law relating to family life in years. New proposals are being brought in on a diverse range of...
View Article“Forced” C-section case – what we know now
By Rachel Buchanan Reports of a C-section being forcibly carried out on a woman that came to light in the mainstream press this past weekend have quickly made international news. What started as an...
View ArticleClare’s Law – what is it and is it what’s needed?
By Rachel Buchanan From March 2014, a scheme allowing police to disclose to individuals details of their partners’ abusive pasts will be extended to police forces across England and Wales, following a...
View Article“Forced” C-section case: speculation laid to rest as judgment is released
By Rachel Buchanan In an unusual move, and apparently in direct response to public speculation, Mr Justice Mostyn, sitting as a judge in the Court of Protection, has made public the judgment,...
View ArticleCourt is “ultimate arbiter of best interests” in child’s bone marrow transplant
REX/Design Pics Inc By Charles Foster In an emergency ruling in the Family Division of the High Court, Mr Justice Mostyn has ordered that a three-year-old boy undergo a bone marrow transplant against...
View ArticleYoung v Young: can “eye-watering” divorce costs be justified?
By Pamela Collis A 7 year divorce case culminating in a 20 day final hearing with £6.5m spent on one side’s legal costs alone. In the aftermath of Young v Young, what should be done by the judiciary...
View ArticlePulling back the curtain of privacy in family and Court of Protection...
By Lucy Reed New guidance on transparency in proceedings has been published by the President of the Family Division and of the Court of Protection, Sir James Munby. The two sets of guidance entitled...
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