The number of children abducted from the UK by their parents has doubled in the last 10 years, according to official figures from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). In 2003-04, the FCO dealt with 272 parental child abduction and international custody cases. This figure had risen to 580 in 2012-13. That is the second
The Court of Appeal has rejected a woman’s claim that she is entitled to half the fortune her ex-husband amassed in the 20 years after they separated. The couple were married in 1985 and had two children, but divorced six years later. Their combined assets were divided between them, with the wife getting the family
When couples separate, emotions can often hinder difficult issues being discussed. Mediation is a process that is designed to help people reach an early agreement, with the minimum of cost, delay and confrontation. It can ease the pain of a family breakdown or separation, encourages people to be open and discuss the implications of their
The divorce rate may be set to rise as the recession ends and the economy recovers, according to a survey of family lawyers. The survey, carried out by accountancy firm Grant Thornton, found that eight out of 10 lawyers felt that the recession had led to married couples delaying divorce proceedings. The reason is thought
A father has won his appeal against a judge’s decision that his daughter should be sent back toSpainto live with her mother. The case involved a couple with four children. The father was British and the mother was Spanish. The family had spent most of their time living in theUK, but when the couple’s relationship
A wife who wanted to receive periodic payments from her husband as part of a divorce settlement has lost her appeal against a court’s decision that there should be a clean break instead. The case involved a couple who had lived together for several years but then separated only eight months after marrying. They had
Six out of ten MPs believe the law needs to be changed to give unmarried couples more legal protection if they separate. A survey carried out by the family law group, Resolution, found that 69% of MPs agree that the public have a mistaken belief in the “myth of common law marriage”. This misconception leads
A couple have been told they are committing financial suicide by running up huge bills in a fight over which country should deal with their divorce. Aloke Ray and Dr Charoo Sekhri met through an online dating agency in 2008. They married in 2009 and lived inLondon, but later moved toSingapore. They have one son.
The divorce rate among the over-60s is continuing to rise, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is in contrast to the overall divorce figures which are falling. The divorce rate for older people was relatively stable in the 1980s but then started to rise in the early 1990s.
A father has won his appeal against a judge’s decision limiting the amount of time he was allowed to spend with his four children. The father wanted to have as much contact as possible with the children following the breakdown of his relationship with the mother. Local authority experts recommended that he should be allowed