Relocation: Putting the pieces together

Rayner Grice provides a reminder of the courts’ approach to relocation, within the context of the increased variety and complexity of family life ‘The court will wish to see a well-considered plan that is well thought through, and most importantly is in the child’s best interests.’ Gone are the days when the nuclear family was …
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Financial provision: A helping hand

Che Meakins looks at the issue of needs in financial proceedings, and the guidance available to assist parties, practitioners and the courts ‘In the case of a financial application made at the time of separation, the court is likely to classify any identified needs as generated by the relationship more or less by default.’ Family …
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Periodical payments: No second bite

Katherine Dunseath and Joanne Wescott examine the Supreme Court decision in Mills v Mills, and the approach to variation of periodical payments subsequent to a capital order ‘Where a capital order has previously been made for housing, an obligation to duplicate that provision is “improbable”.’ In Mills v Mills [2018] the Supreme Court allowed the …
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Civil partnership: Opening up the options

Emma Willing suggests that the Supreme Court declaration of incompatibility in relation to civil partnerships is just the start of a very necessary process of change ‘When Parliament enacted M(SSC)A 2013, the government should have eliminated the inequality immediately, by either abolishing civil partnerships or by extending them to different-sex couples.’ In 2014, Rebecca Steinfeld …
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School fees: Making sacrifices

Kathryn Mason considers the courts’ jurisdiction to order the payment of school fees, and the factors that will be taken into account ‘The CMS will not take payments made in respect of school fees orders into account in relation to a maintenance assessment.’ One of the largest expenses associated with a child is often the …
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Marital agreements: Proceed with caution

Joe Ailion highlights a case in which, inter alia, a lack of legal advice in relation to a pre-marital agreement did not protect a dissenting party ‘It would be impractical, and prohibitively expensive, for parties to obtain advice in any of the multiple possible matrimonial regimes in which a “globe-trotting” couple may divorce.’ In a …
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In practice: What’s love got to do with it?

Andrew Baines explores the role of love in the family courts and how it may impact on all involved in the court process ‘Practitioners and judges deal with children matters on a daily basis, and while they may not have to live with the consequences of their advice and decisions as do the children and …
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