All Things Family Law

Last week I represented a Father in an application made by the Mother for permission to permanently remove their children from the country. The final hearing was listed for five days. I would like to use this blog to briefly summarise the law as it now stands in this area and to address the old age question as to whether   a Father get a rougher ride than a Mother in cases concerning children. Does gender bias exist? The extensive arguments filed on the applicable law reinforce how the higher courts have now (helpfully) unified the approach that should be taken in these cases. We now have clarity.   Without getting too bogged down in the law, the decision in a case known as Re F (a child) (International Relocation Cases) [2015] EWCA Civ 882 essentially says the court should now adopt a ‘holistic view’ of the children’s welfare. As part of the overall welfare consideration the court needs to place appropriate weight on the strength of the relationship between the Fa...

At this time of the year we all picture the perfect family. Presents around the tree. Laughter at the dinner table. Smiles. Happiness.   Whilst that is indeed true of many families, this can often conceal the real state of a marriage.   The festive period can cause marriages that are already cracking to reach breaking point. One person may have been thinking about taking the leap of divorce for a number of months (or even years) and Christmas has suddenly crept up on them. In a period of reflection and fresh starts the New Year can be the trigger one needs to finally bring a dysfunctional or unhappy marriage to an end.    Alternatively you may have just separated or this could be the first Christmas as a separated parent.   Whatever it is, I set out below some practical legal tips to consider in this web of confusion.   Before Christmas at least find out ‘where you stand’. Do not wait to obtain legal advice. Remember your attendance wi...

Many will be blissfully unaware that a new Universal Credit was introduced by the government in 2012 as part of its welfare reforms. It replaces seven of the means tested benefits including child and working tax credits. It has already been introduced in different parts of the country and now the Tories have obtained a majority it is going to be phased out across to all parts of the country by 2017. What does this mean for me? It will mean that if you receive tax credits (or other means tested benefits) you will receive just the Universal Credit. Given that the government needs to find £12bn in welfare savings I very much suspect its introduction will mean, in one way or the other, some form of cut to the amount of financial help you receive. Why is a family solicitor telling me this? Good point. Well, there is more… Presently any child or spousal maintenance payments from an ex-spouse are not taken into account when calculating tax credits. They are completely ign...

    Reading that Louis Van Gaal has decided to break from Man Utd’s usual tradition of staying in a hotel by allowing the players to stay at home on Christmas night reminds me how difficult it is for football players over the festive break. Before you shoot me down in flames with the usual ‘well they get paid loads of money’ – true as that is (for a small proportion of players) – actually, having children myself, my view is that no money can replace being away from your children and family on Christmas. That thought leads me on to other points.... Many people really do not appreciate the sacrifices a footballer makes. Of course, before I proceed, I am not minimising how difficult it is for those millions of families struggling to heat their homes and put food on the table over Christmas, but that in itself does not mean there should be a complete lack of appreciation for the life of a footballer. Take a footballer playing for a club in Europe – perhaps the Eu...

Dispute Resolution (DR) week….hmmmm. DR week is   an awareness-raising week which aims to highlight the alternatives to court for separating couples and their families http://www.resolution.org.uk/DisputeResolutionWeek2014/ Firstly, for the avoidance of doubt, I absolutely encourage people to seek to resolve matters in a dignified and cost effective way. I think this is a really good initiative. I am also a member of Resolution (an organisation of family lawyers who subscribe to a code of practice to resolve matters in a non-confrontational way) and I sit on one of the committees. I also believe all cases should be approached in this manner. I am interested, however, to know exactly the extent of the impact of DR week on people presently going through the court process. It is a bit like pancake day- you eat them for one day - but will you eat pancakes all year round? The reality is that any family solicitor worth their salt will explore methods of dispute resolut...

For some time now I have advocated the need for the profession to implement a more flexible and modern way of charging legal fees. There is a growing dissatisfaction amongst the public with the traditional way of structuring legal costs. Clients, understandably in my view, are craving more certainty with what a divorce is going to cost. The problem exists in the very nature of the proceedings. Decisions made in divorce and family law cases are often shrouded by emotion. A difficult opponent, intent on making sure his or her spouse does not receive a fair share of the assets, does nothing to dilute this toxic mix. Throw in expert fees and suddenly you have a recipe for growing costs. Against this background it remains very difficult for a family lawyer to provide a truly accurate estimate at the outset. Indeed, and this is one of my ‘pet hates’, a sharp practice has developed amongst some firms who will underestimate at the outset to secure the instructions of the client only for...

How much a particular course of action is going to cost and how these costs are going to be met should be high on the agenda at the outset. This has grown in prevalence since the legal aid reforms severely restricted access to legal services. Parliament has sought to react, and to some extent dilute the impact of the reforms, by introducing, into legislation, the ability for a party to apply for a Legal Services Payment Order under s.22ZA of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. This is an order requiring your spouse to fund your legal costs, usually, and initially, until the Financial Dispute Resolution Hearing (the second hearing where constructive discussions and negotiations are held before a District Judge who will provide an indication to assist you in reaching an agreement)