July/August 2015 #148 – Law Journals

Costs: A marriage of necessity?

Chrissie Cuming Walters explores the interrelationship between costs allowances and legal services orders ‘The difference between legal services orders and costs allowance orders is that the former is subject to the application of more stringent statutory principles while the latter remains open to wider judicial interpretation and discretion.’The terms ‘costs allowance order’ and ‘legal services …

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Schedule 1: Attention to detail

Che Meakins suggests that when dealing with a limited-means Schedule 1 claim, particular care should be taken to quantify means and needs ‘While Schedule 1 claims are not the same as matrimonial proceedings and ought not to be treated as such, the reality is that matrimonial decisions and rationale do tend to be referred to …

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Trusts: Available assets

Charlotte Conner outlines the challenges when dealing with cases involving trusts ‘This is an area fraught with difficulty as the court is being asked to deal with assets which are not legally owned by either party to the proceedings.’ The recent Court of Appeal decision in P v P [2015] brings into focus key issues …

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Periodical Payments: Road to independence

Lisa Bray summarises the current case law on joint lives periodical payments orders and considers whether there is an increasing trend towards term orders ‘While the starting point is to put each party on the road to independence, the reality is that in recent years we have seen many judges showing a reluctance to make …

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Adoption: New resources

Rachel Cook reviews the new Adoption Support Fund and the support available to adoptive families via the fund ‘The Adoption Support Fund will provide money for a range of therapeutic services identified as helping to achieve positive outcomes, including training on therapeutic parenting and the provision of creative therapies.’On 1 May 2015 the Adoption Support …

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International Focus: Careful planning

Helen Habershon looks at issues that may arise in expatriate divorces and the importance of considering potential areas of dispute at an early stage ‘The country an expatriate client lives in may well determine how to present the petition; for example, if adultery is a factor, in some countries such behaviour may result in imprisonment.’Families …

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Surrogacy: Mind the gap

Q B

Marjha Golding-Evans examines a recent decision on single-parent adoption and surrogacy and highlights a legal lacuna ‘At any one time there can be several people who have, or can obtain, legal status in relation to a child born following a surrogacy arrangement, depending on the circumstances of the child’s conception.’The legal world often claps its …

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