The animal charity Blue Cross has introduced the world’s first ‘Pet Nuptial Agreement’ to deal with how pets are treated on divorce and separation. The law views pets as chattels i.e. possessions, rather than considering their welfare as the primary consideration. There is limited case law on the treatment of Read more…
The case of the seriously ill 5 year old boy Aysha King has been all over the news this week. From a family law perspective the case is interesting as, on 1st September 2014, Aysha was made a ward of court on an application to the High Court by Portsmouth Read more…
The issue of surrogacy has been in the news recently due to allegations that an Australian couple rejected a baby boy born in Thailand under a commercial surrogacy arrangement. The baby’s twin sister was accepted but the boy was not as he has Down’s syndrome. The law governing surrogacy in Read more…
Statistics have recently been released which suggest in excess of 19,000 more parents appeared in civil Courts without expert legal representation in cases relating to their children in the 12 months that followed the Legal Aid cuts in April 2013. Prior to April 2013 those who could not afford to Read more…
A Judge in Wales has been highly critical of a local authority which failed to return a nine year old boy to his mother’s care after she withdrew her consent to him being in foster care. The boy had been accommodated while his mother had treatment in a psychiatric unit. Read more…
The Government proposes to implement a Residence Test for people applying for Civil Legal Aid (ie not criminal legal aid). The Residence Test will limit legal aid to those with a “strong connection” with the UK. The Human Rights Joint Committee has prepared a Report particularly focusing upon the likely Read more…
This was one of the headlines in the news on Monday 23rd June on the BBC and in numerous broadsheet newspapers. A report carried out by two universities and funded by the Nuffield Foundation found that around one in three court applications by Local Authorities to take children into care Read more…
Since the cuts to legal aid for family cases in April 2013, there has been a rise in the number of companies offering loans to fund legal costs. These ‘litigation loans’ are only available for financial cases in which the client is likely to receive a settlement with which they Read more…
On 17th April 2014 the Government produced a consultation paper on outsourcing certain aspects of the child protection functions, most of which are currently carried out by Local Authorities. This is a five page document available at httpss://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/delegating-childrens-social-care-functions . Responses to the consultation are to be submitted by 30th May Read more…
What have longer daylight hours and more sunshine got to do with family law? There are two scenarios which immediately come to mind: opportunities for parents to spend time with children outdoors and improved prospects of selling property. In situations where the trust between parents has broken down, the time Read more…