Child abduction: A cautious approach

Matt Foster and Dhara Shah examine the power of the courts to make port alert orders and best practice when dealing with cases involving an abduction risk The Family Court has the power to issue a port alert order, but only in circumstances where it is an incidental measure to give effect to a substantive …
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Conduct: In the extreme

Sophie Groves and Valeria Gampl consider the impact of non-financial conduct in financial proceedings Despite the statutory provision naming conduct as one of the factors the court takes into account, the reality of arguing non-financial conduct successfully remains reserved to cases of truly exceptional circumstances. Family law practitioners are often faced with difficulties in managing …
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Maintenance pending suit: Reasonable and required?

Andrew Smith provides a guide to the key principles to be applied on an application for maintenance pending suit and procedural points Maintenance pending suit will often not be reflective of longer term periodical payments and so it isn’t particularly necessary to go into longer term need for expenditure, especially that which is needed post-financial …
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Financial provision: Planning for uncertainty

Holly Cook looks at the impact of a life-limiting health condition when assessing financial claims on divorce In ND v GD, it was a matter for the wife and her litigation friend/power of attorney to decide how the funds were to be apportioned between housing and income needs, ie she may choose to spend less …
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In practice: Are we doing enough?

Claire Molyneux asks whether there is more that can be done to support separating families and minimise the impact on children, potentially by the introduction of a family lawyers’ charter The idea of a family lawyers’ charter is to support family lawyers themselves, in the sense of providing a reflective type of anchor for both …
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Adoption: A broad church

Andrew Scott sets out the approach taken to an application for adoption by a party to a relationship which had ended after the birth of the child The issue of whether there is an enduring family relationship is a question of fact and degree and a matter for the court to consider in every case. …
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Private children: An exception to the rule

Rebecca Viola and Aimee Jones analyse the court’s approach in a case where various draconian orders were sought in relation to a father and the court’s reasons for making those orders In D v E, any decision in favour of promoting contact, or maintaining the father’s parental responsibility, would be a significant change of circumstances …
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