Catherine Doherty examines the approach to stellar contributions and whether such arguments are now largely obsolete ‘The Court of Appeal felt that it could only determine that there was not such a disparity in the parties’ respective contributions that it would be inequitable to disregard them when deciding what award to make.’ The decision of …
Continue reading "Financial provision: Not-so-special"
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Suzanne Todd examines family law developments during the millennium so far and what the future holds ‘It is essential for family lawyers to have a bank of highly regarded therapists, counsellors and coaches to whom they can refer clients to ensure that they have the expert advice that they need.’ The 21st century has seen …
Continue reading "In practice: The winds of change"
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James Copson looks at the recommendations in the Pension Advisory Group report and highlights the potential pitfalls when dealing with pension assets ‘It is much harder to achieve a fair outcome where there is a significant difference in the ages of the parties.’ An understanding of pensions is a must for every family lawyer working …
Continue reading "Pensions: Equality or not?"
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Oliver Auld gives the lowdown on what happens to trusts in the event of a divorce ‘Trustees need to be aware of not only the range of orders the family courts can make in relation to trust assets, but also the strategies they should potentially be adopting in the best interest of their beneficiaries, both …
Continue reading "Divorce: A matter of trust"
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Elizabeth Simos looks at issues of conduct and non-disclosure, and the impact where adverse inferences are drawn in needs cases ‘Arguments as to add-backs essentially come down to issues of conduct, namely conduct that it would, in the opinion of the court, be inequitable to disregard.’ Much to the dismay of ‘wronged’ spouses in England …
Continue reading "Conduct: Balancing the scales"
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Catherine Doherty asks whether case law has effectively restricted stellar performance arguments to financial contributions only ‘In XW v XH Baker J acknowledged the need to exercise caution with respect to the domestic contribution of the wife, as homemaker, to the welfare of the family.’ Since Cowan v Cowan [2001] was decided by the Court …
Continue reading "Special contribution: A rare bird"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Autumn 2018 #173Mrs Akhter (A) and Mr Khan (K) underwent an Islamic marriage ceremony in England in 1998. They then considered themselves husband and wife and were treated as such by their families, community and state authorities. They had four children. Despite requests by A no civil ceremony was ever undertaken. The parties lived in Dubai between 2005 and 2011 and were treated as married by the UAE authorities, to whom they presented their Islamic marriage certificate.
A petitioned for divorce in 2016. K applied to strike out the petition on the basis that the parties had not entered a valid m...
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Autumn 2017 #169AAZ (W) applied for financial orders ancillary to her divorce from BBZ (H). H was the sole director of the second respondent C Ltd, a Cypriot registered company and the trustee of a Bermudian Discretionary Trust (the trust). P Ltd, the third respondent, is a Panamian company which H said was within the trust. P Ltd was said to hold the bulk of the wealth in the case. None of the respondents took any part in the trial. H was in breach of several court orders, including one compelling his personal attendance for the duration of the trial.
H and W had been married since 1993 when the...
Kevin Danagher examines the High Court’s decision in Christoforou v Christoforou, and the approach to evidencing claims that are non-matrimonial ‘Non-matrimonial property provides the court with a reason to depart from equality, and in some cases fairness suggests that the party with non-matrimonial property should be allowed to keep it, subject to issues of need …
Continue reading "Non-Matrimonial Assets: The significance of origin"
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Priya Palanivel and Shantel Burbridge examine the Court of Appeal’s decision in Sharp v Sharp, and the potential impact on the approach to short marriages ‘The facts of Sharp meant it was “one of the very small number of cases” where the circumstances justified a departure from the principle of equal sharing.’ The duration of …
Continue reading "Financial Provision: Short but sweet"
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