A court has imposed a penalty of more than £800,000 on a husband who behaved unreasonably during divorce proceedings. The judge said the move should act as a warning to all couples that the law would not tolerate dishonest tactics. The case involved a couple in their fifties. They had been married for 25 years
The Family Court has granted a woman’s application to have the home she shared with her former partner sold, even though their son was still living there. The couple had been in a relationship from 1995 until 2017 and had two children. One was aged 19, and referred to in court as D; the other
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a judge was wrong to prevent two grandparents adopting their 3-year-old grandson. The court heard that the child’s mother suffered from mental health problems. She had a long history of drug abuse and had criminal convictions for violent offences. She had had no contact with the child since
A woman whose husband died after they had undergone IVF treatment has obtained a parental order for their baby after she was born to a surrogate mother. The couple, who were referred to in court as Mr and Mrs Y, married in 2013. After several unsuccessful IVF treatments, they entered into a surrogacy agreement with
The Family Court has divided a divorcing couple’s marital assets in roughly equal shares, although they had spent so much on their acrimonious dispute that there was very little money left. The couple had been married for nearly 22 years and had three children before separating and embarking on financial remedy proceedings. There had been
The National Domestic Abuse Helpline has reported a rise of 25% in calls since the COVID-19 lockdown. The charity Refuge has stated that isolation appears to aggravate pre-existing aggressive behaviour. If you find yourself in an abusive relationship, what are your options? What is domestic abuse/violence? Domestic abuse does not just include violent physical behaviour.
The announcement that the Queen’s grandson Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn are to divorce has thrown the media spotlight on to pre-nuptial agreements. It was widely reported that the separation is amicable with the couple agreeing to share custody of their two children. The apparent goodwill in their approach led to widespread speculation that
A group of MPs have called for root and branch reforms of the inheritance tax system, including a cut in the standard rate from 40% to 10%. They also want to scrap most of the current tax reliefs, including the seven-year rule that allows you to pass on wealth without any tax implications. Instead, the
The government has published its new bill designed to reform divorce law and “remove the need for separating couples to blame one another for the breakdown of their marriage”. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill represents the biggest shake-up of divorce laws in half a century and aims to reduce the impact that allegations of
Thousands of Muslim couples are thought to be taking part in Islamic wedding ceremonies each year in the UK without realising that their marriage may not be officially recognised under the law. This can have serious consequences if they later wish to divorce because they may find the courts refuse to accept they were ever