The news on 14 October 2015 that two ex-wives had secured victory in the Supreme Court over their ex-husbands’ non-disclosure of assets should send out a strong message to divorcing spouses – if you are not honest about your financial circumstances any settlement can be set aside. The cases of Read more…
Rotherham Magistrates, Family and County Courts are very likely to be closed as part of a bid to save costs in the Courts’ Service. A government consultation on court closures which began on 16th July came to an end on 8th October 2015. Other courts in the area facing the Read more…
Kentucky registrar Kim Davis was jailed on 3 September 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licences as she is vigorously opposed to same sex marriage. The case has grabbed worldwide media attention and sparked controversy in the US. Ms Davis refuses to issue marriage licences as same sex marriage is against Read more…
The revelation that Canada based internet site Ashley Madison has been the victim of hackers has been the subject of widespread media attention. The site, whose strapline reads “Life is Short. Have an Affair”, is aimed at “attached” people wanting to have liaisons – the nature of which can be Read more…
On 8th July 2015 the Government announced that it is removing a technicality which meant some victims of domestic abuse were losing their Legal Aid part way through a case. As a result of cuts brought in by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) on 1st Read more…
In the blog about missing Ethan William dated 12 June, it was explained that the media are very restricted in what they can report in family cases. The Ethan Williams case was extremely unusual as the Judge permitted the media to report on the case in order to try and Read more…
The case of Rebecca Minnock and her 3 year old son Ethan has been all over the news media this week. Miss Minnock disappeared with Ethan just before a hearing in the Family Court on 27th May 2015. At that hearing a Judge made an order that Ethan lives with Read more…
The media has been awash with stories about the Human Rights Act 1998. The Conservative Government’s manifesto stated that it would “scrap the Human Rights Act and introduce a British Bill of Rights”. So what is it all about? The Human Rights Act 1998 incorporates the European Convention on Human Read more…
2015 marks 10 years of civil partnerships and 1 year of same sex marriage. Civil partnerships became law on 5th December 2005 in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Same sex marriage was introduced in England and Wales on 14th March 2014. The relevant statutes are the Civil Partnership Act Read more…
Sheffield and District Law Society, which represents solicitors in Sheffield and South Yorkshire, has sent out over 60 emails to candidates in the area to ask their views on two specific areas: changes to legal aid and recent increases in court fees. As of 29th April 2015 they had received Read more…