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Catherine Morgan discusses the options when faced with difficulties maintaining contact ‘As practitioners are well aware, the resounding message from case law is that unless contact would be damaging to the child, it should go ahead. It is unfortunately the case though that contact can suffer when the relationship between the child’s parents breaks down.’It …
Continue reading "Contact: Opening doors"
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Mandeep Gill sets out the key aspects of the 2006 Hague Convention finally expected to come into force in the UK shortly ‘All three recent Hague Conventions were designed to promote cross-border cooperation, protect the best interests of children and, in many respects, complement each other.’The Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and …
Continue reading "Hague Convention: International protocol"
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Andrew Meehan outlines the courts’ approach when matrimonial assets include personal injury damages ‘In some cases, the needs of the recipient of the damages may mean that there is little or no readily available capital that might be transferred to the wife. In others, the need of the children and the primary carer may take …
Continue reading "Financial Provision: Balancing needs"
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Claire Glaister highlights the options when dealing with the Land Registry ‘Land Registry offices that deal with applications for a notice or restriction often have different views as to which applications they will accept without question and which ones require further evidence.’Applications to the Land Registry, in the context of family law, are commonplace and …
Continue reading "Land Registry: Protecting interests"
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Jessica Craigs takes a topical look at privacy, phone hacking and computer misuse ‘It is highly unlikely that a judge would agree to the family computer being impounded on the mere suspicions of a spouse coupled with a quick look at the internet history.’It was with morbid fascination that I listened to a radio programme …
Continue reading "Privacy: Private affairs"
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Melanie Barnes and James Pirrie set out the case for private child maintenance agreements and less state intervention ‘Where private agreements are made, a parent only has a right to apply for enforcement where the court retains jurisdiction, or until such time as an application is accepted by the CSA.’The government, in support of its …
Continue reading "Child Support: Widening options"
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Karen Eckstein and Frances Bailey highlight the impact of tax planning on financial provision ‘Even with expert evidence making assumptions in relation to contingent assets is a risky strategy to take, as demonstrated by Judge v Judge [2008].’The saying is that there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes; save that in fact …
Continue reading "Tax: Planning for tax"
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Philippa Cunniff compares Scottish law with family law in England and Wales At a time when minds are focused on the harmonisation of laws across Europe, it can be easy to overlook the fact that even within the UK, the laws relating to financial provision on divorce or dissolution of civil partnerships are very different. …
Continue reading "International Focus: Notable differences"
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Joanna Kay outlines the regulatory framework and potential pitfalls when advising on surrogacies ‘Under English law, to be recognised as the parents, a commissioning couple needs to either apply to court for a parental order within six months of the birth, or to adopt the children.’There was uproar surrounding the first commercial surrogacy in Britain …
Continue reading "Surrogacy: Commissioning families"
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Andrew Meehan considers the court’s approach to applications under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 ‘The district judge in DE v AB should have stood back and undertaken an analysis as to the overall effect of the proposed award on each party.’The case of DE v AB [2010] illustrates the lengths to which the …
Continue reading "Schedule 1: Fair shares"
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