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Financial Provision: Revisiting orders

Hannah Clark analyses the limited circumstances in which the courts will reopen a final financial order ‘The courts are paying clear regard to the floodgates argument, through their restrictive application of the principle of finality in litigation and their constant reiteration of the extraordinariness of Barder events.’As family lawyers, we are well accustomed to the …
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Trusts: Every penny counts

James Lister and Sean Hilton summarise the approach to trust assets in family proceedings Case law demonstrates the need for absolute clarity from the outset, the nuanced nature of cases involving trust assets and the enhanced duties of the lawyers involved to give judges proper guidance so as to avoid unsafe decisions. It has always …
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ADR: New options

David Hodson and Denise Carter set out the new ADR provisions in the FPR 2010 and consider their likely impact ‘Practitioners must be alive to the real likelihood that at any hearing the judge will enquire whether mediation or other ADR has been attempted and, if not, the real likelihood that the case will be …
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Divorce And Civil Partnership: Modern language

Hannah Budd and David Hodson highlight the provisions of the FPR 2010 in relation to divorce and civil partnership dissolution ‘There was an anticipated modernisation of terminology, but the overall perception from the new rules, coupled with the new forms, is that this has been a missed opportunity.’The provisions relating to divorce and civil partnerships …
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Children: Business as usual?

Nicola Criscione looks at the impact of the FPR 2010 on procedure in children proceedings ‘Rule 12.3 FPR 2010 sets out who the parties to each type of proceedings are and contains a very user-friendly table showing every different type of proceedings, and who may make the application and who the respondents to that application …
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Financial Provision: Changing times

Lucy Loizou and David Hodson examine the new rules regarding financial disputes and the transitional arrangements under the FPR 2010 ‘The aim of the pre-action protocol is to assist the parties in resolving their differences quickly and fairly, or at least narrow the issues, and, should that not be possible, to assist the court to …
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Appeals: An appealing consolidation?

Ellie Foster reflects on the harmonisation of the rules relating to appeals and potential pitfalls under the FPR 2010 ‘The general principle of the FPR 2010, certainly as far as appeals are concerned, is to harmonise the new rules with the CPR 1998 and to provide for one appeal only, although exceptionally there may be …
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Costs: Costs consequences

Vanessa Mitchell and James Copson discuss the changes introduced by the costs provisions in the FPR 2010 ‘If one of the intentions of the new rules is to produce a simpler structure for the administration of family justice, then sadly the costs rules have been overlooked and remain fiendishly complicated.’To what extent can the family …
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Procedure: New rules

David Hodson sets out a summary of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 ‘The new ADR provisions are, in certain respects, very similar to the power to adjourn into mediation in the FLA 1996, but do not include provision for the mediator to report back to the court.’ The Family Procedure Rules 2010 (No 2955) (FPR …
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Irish Law: Same-sex couples

Alison Green and Colm Fahy take a comparative look at civil partnerships in England and Wales and the Republic of Ireland ‘The ICPA 2010 creates a regime of civil partnership that is quite distinct from marriage and certainly more restrictive that the CPA 2004, yet it also takes on a more radical position when compared …
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