FDR appointments: No room for manoeuvre

Joshua Green and Kelly Gerrard examine the prohibition on an FDR judge dealing with later stages of financial proceedings and whether there should be a more flexible approach ‘There may be occasions when the parties wish a judge to rule on a minor point they cannot agree on, and it is more proportionate and cost-effective …
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Marital Agreements: No second chances?

In the conclusion to a two-part analysis Che Meakins looks at Xydhias agreements and the procedure to be adopted on a notice to show cause ‘The only way of rendering an agreement enforceable is to convert the concluded agreement into an order of the court. In this respect, the court’s role is not simply to …
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Marital Agreements: Final word

In the first of a two-part analysis Che Meakins discusses different types of agreements between parties in family proceedings and their impact ‘Unless there are “compelling reasons to the contrary”, an agreement should be given effect to where it is freely entered into by both parties.’ The rise of alternative dispute resolution methods may make …
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Separation Agreements: No second chance

Amy Harris contemplates the finality of separation agreements and applications to show cause ‘The court found that both parties gained from the agreement in one way or another and it was not until 20 years later that the wife sought to revisit the separation agreement on the basis that she had fallen upon hard times.’ …
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Agreements: Reaching conclusions

Claire Glaister sets out the courts’ approach where parties disagree as to whether a concluded financial agreement has been reached In every case, the court must exercise its independent discretionary review. An agreement reached between two parties in compliance with certain requirements will carry significant weight when the court is considering a claim for financial …
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Re JC 11757467

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | September 2012 #122

JC had four biological children: A, B, C and D. A was born in 1942 to a 15-year old mother. He was subsequently fostered, but throughout his life always understood JC to be his father and in the forty years preceding trial had worked and been in regular contact with him. JC denied parentage of A, but paternity was conclusively established by a court authorised DNA test. B and C were born in wedlock, in 1953 and 1955 respectively. However, they first had contact with their father in or around 2006/7. Their relationships remained strained, C in particular refusing to attend the hearing as ...

Law Reform: Changing times

Lucy Loizou and Hannah Budd set out the potential options for marital agreements as considered in the Law Commission’s consultation paper ‘Some European jurisdictions do not allow couples to opt out by agreement of their obligations to ‘maintain’ one another after a divorce and a marital agreement can relate only to what would be perceived …
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International Focus: Crossing borders

Jonathan Harris considers the European and international aspects of Granatino v Radmacher and its aftermath ‘The so-called Brussels II bis Regulation normally requires an English court to entertain divorce proceedings in a broad range of circumstances, and has largely stripped the English courts of the discretion to weed out cases more appropriately heard overseas.’ Granatino …
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Radmacher (formerly Granatino) v Granatino WTLR(w) 2010-13

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