The Court of Appeal has ruled that a judge was wrong to order that three children abducted by their father should not be returned to their mother. The children were aged 12, 11 and 8. Since 2010, they had lived in Spain with their British parents and attended Spanish schools. In May 2017, the parents’
Campaigners have welcomed the government announcement that heterosexual couples will be allowed to enter into civil partnerships instead of getting married if that’s what they wish. Civil partnerships provide the same benefits and rights as marriage in terms of tax, inheritance and protections for each partner if the relationship breaks down. They have only been
The government is drawing up plans to end the ‘blame game’ for separating couples, which often sees one partner accusing the other of unreasonable behaviour to get a quick divorce. There are currently five reasons for being granted a divorce by the courts: adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, two years separation if both agree to the
There has been a huge rise in the number of couples citing “unreasonable behaviour” as grounds for obtaining a quick divorce. Researchers at Oxford University found that the number of divorces granted to wives because of unreasonable behaviour rose from 17% in 1971 to 51% in 2016. The increase was even sharper for husbands, rising
The government is being urged to introduce major changes to divorce laws to reduce the stress and difficulties faced by couples when their marriage breaks down. A private member’s bill put forward by Baroness Butler-Sloss proposes a system of no-fault divorce. It would be the first major change to divorce laws in England and Wales
A mother has lost her appeal to prevent her children being returned to their father in Canada. The courts rejected her argument that such a move would cause her to collapse emotionally. The mother and children had been living with the father in Canada until October 2016. At that point, the mother wrongfully removed the
A wife who lost most of her divorce settlement because of unsuccessful investments has failed in her legal battle to make her former husband pay her more to compensate for her losses. Graham and Maria Mills had married in 1987 and divorced in 2002. They had one child. The matrimonial home was sold, and the
A father has been committed to prison for 18 months after separating his children from their mother while on holiday and refusing to return them. The Court of Appeal was told that the children had not seen their mother for five years and were not living with either of their parents. The case involved a
The Supreme Court has “reluctantly” ruled against a woman seeking a divorce to free her from what she describes as a loveless marriage. The five justices said they had misgivings about dismissing her appeal and have asked Parliament to consider reforming the divorce laws. The highly publicised case involved Tini Owens, aged 68, and her
A father has failed in his bid to have his son returned to the UK from Spain. In refusing his application, the High Court gave some useful guidance on how to determine a child’s habitual country of residence when parental disputes arise. The case involved a couple who met in the UK but then moved