The Child Maintenance Service has recently been criticised by a Senior High Court Judge Mr Justice Mostyn for enabling a multi-millionaire father to pay just £7 per week child support. The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) was introduced in November 2013 and over the past few years has gradually taken over Read more…
The Government’s legislative programme set out in the Queen’s Speech on 21st June 2017 contains two bills out of a total of 27 which are aimed at providing greater protection for victims of domestic violence. The first is a draft domestic violence and abuse bill which will establish a domestic Read more…
A Court of Appeal judgement on 13th June 2017 in the case of Julie and Robin Sharp has muddied the waters for couples splitting assets after divorcing from a short marriage. In a High Court decision in November 2015 Mr Sharp was awarded half the assets after a 4 year Read more…
For a number of years there has been a debate about whether alleged perpetrators of domestic abuse should be allowed to cross examine their victims in the family court. This arises where the alleged perpetrator is a parent who has applied for a child arrangements order. It is usually, but Read more…
On 10th May 2017 in a divorce law case a judgment was handed down in the High Court in London which awarded a wife the astronomical sum £453 million – 41.5% of the total marital assets. The case was widely reported in the media. This was yet another case involving Read more…
A recent article looked at Faroese men marrying Thai or Phillipino women due to the lack of females on the Islands. This raises some interesting legal questions in regards to marriage between people of different nationalities and people getting married abroad. Similarly, people from one country who choose to marry Read more…
The general rule in the Family Courts is that cases are dealt with in private. This dates back to the Judicial Proceedings (Regulation of Reports Act) 1926. The Act states that it is unlawful to print or publish: The names, addresses and occupations of the parties and witnesses; A concise Read more…
The decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of Hugh and Tini Owens on 24th March 2017 is a backward step in divorce law in England and Wales. The Court of Appeal upheld a ruling in the lower court dismissing Mrs Owens’ divorce petition based on her husband’s Read more…
Domestic Abuse in Russia and the US: International Women’s Day International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8th March each year. It is a commemoration of the women’s rights movement and has a long history. The first Women’s Day observance was held in New York in 1909; in 1917 March 8th Read more…
On Valentine’s day the Court of Appeal started hearing a very unusual case as a Judge in the lower court refused to allow a wife’s unreasonable behaviour divorce petition to proceed. After a long marriage Mrs Tini Owens commenced divorce proceedings based on what she viewed as her husband Hugh’s unreasonable Read more…