In a recent Case concerning parental alienation, Judge Stephen Wildblood QC told the father he was “truly sorry” when delivering judgment in relation to his parental contact rights. The judgment can be read ­here. Sadly though, the alienation of children against one parent (usually the non-resident parent) is quite common in proceedings concerning children. The […]

The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has today made observations about the strain the Family Court is under due to the sheer volume of cases that are submitted. Many of these cases are from separated parents regarding disagreements about the arrangements for their children. Despite the Court’s requirement to explore mediation before submitting […]

Imagine thinking that you are divorced; then you both remarry only to find out that the Court made an error in your divorce proceedings, that the divorce has been deemed void, and that you and your former spouse are going to potentially face criminal sanctions for bigamy. This nightmare scenario came to light in the […]

It has been announced that the founder of Amazon, and the world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos has reached a settlement with his wife MacKenzie Bezos in their divorce for a reported record-breaking figure of (at least) $35b. It appears that the Bezos’ were keen to use a collaborative model for their financial settlement discussions, a […]

On 23rd November the House of Lords will hear the committee stage of the Divorce (Financial Provision) Bill. The law regarding financial provision on Divorce remains subject to a statute which is now 45 years old (Matrimonial Causes Act 1973). Some might say therefore that the law is somewhat outdated. The Bill seeks to bring […]

I recently met a new client seeking some advice about a pre-nuptial agreement. He was a young man who was potentially going to marry his partner in an Islamic ceremony and then they would both move into his home which he had bought prior to the beginning of the relationship. The young man was accompanied […]

Sir James Munby, the President of the Family Division has recently delivered a speech at the University of Edinburgh Law School castigating the speed of progress of reform in family law. Particular focus was given by Sir James regarding cohabitant’s rights, no-fault divorce, financial relief after divorce, access to and reporting of family cases and […]

Yet another special contribution case has hit the headlines, with the news yesterday that a Russian billionaire has been ordered to pay £453million to his ex-wife, or roughly 41.5% of the total matrimonial assets. The wife had claimed that the husband was worth over £1billion. The judgement has not yet been published, the specific facts […]

The judgement in the case of Owens v Owens has been handed down, which has decided that the original judge who refused the wife the right to be granted a divorce, was not wrong in coming to his decision. The appeal of the wife against that decision has today been dismissed by the Court of […]

You will have no doubt heard about the tragic case of a young girl dying of cancer whose wish was for her body to be cryogenically frozen; her hope being that one day in the future a cure will be found for cancer and that her body can be ‘reactivated’ so that she can live […]

This week has seen the biggest overhaul to child maintenance since its implementation in 1993. The Government has introduced a new system of administering child maintenance through The Child Maintenance Service (CMS), which has replaced The Child Support Agency (CSA). The new system has three core functions: To promote the financial responsibility parents have for […]