Capitalised Maintenance: Last orders?

Huw Miles looks at the finality of orders and why and how financial orders may be varied ‘Grocholewska-Mullins is an example of a living and variable order going through varying states of health, with a judge attempting to use the resources now available to achieve a belated clean break.’ When a court makes a financial …
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Pensions: Fair shares

Eleanor Aguirre summarises best practice when dealing with pension sharing ‘The law and practice on pension sharing is not straightforward, but equally it is not the impossible minefield many of us fear.’The majority of financial cases involve pensions in one guise or another. Since the advent of pension sharing orders, they have become the most …
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International Focus: Comparing countries

In the conclusion to a two-part analysis Suzanne Kingston, Adele Pledger and Paulina Sandler complete their comparison of spousal maintenance in a range of jurisdictions ‘The label attributable to London (and by default, the remainder of the jurisdiction) as being the “divorce capital of the world” does not necessarily derive from the approach of the …
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Jurisdiction: First in line

Anna Wagstaff considers competing requirements to protect maintenance creditors and the need to avoid irreconcilable decisions ‘EA v AP highlights the potential conflict between the objective of the maintenance regulation to protect maintenance creditors and the fundamental objective of avoiding irreconcilable decisions.’ EU Regulation No. 4/2009 (known as the maintenance regulation) came into force in …
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Children: Children’s voices

Jemma Thomas and Nancy Khawam set out the courts’ approach to children’s wishes and feelings, and the weight to be attached to their views ‘The Convention does not stipulate an age below which a child cannot have attained an age and degree of maturity at which it is appropriate to take account of its views …
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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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Periodical Payments: Default position?

Helen Cort examines the evolution of nominal periodical payments orders in favour of the primary carer and the potential impact of the Court of Appeal decision in Matthews v Matthews ‘The courts strive to achieve a clean break where possible because it enables the severing of financial ties thereby allowing the parties to move on …
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