Social media is an established part of our world now and with live tweeting from Courts, the possibility of service of legal documents via Facebook message and pages and pages of screenshots being submitted in evidence, it is having a profound influence on family law legal proceedings. As a family…
We blogged earlier in the year about the challenges for older people going through divorce and it sparked some healthy debate with colleagues about what is the key advice we need to give to the older generation. We know from the statistics that there is a rise in older couples…
For divorce solicitors the approach of Christmas heralds a number of challenges and concerns. There’s the increase in calls from distressed parents unable to reach agreement about whether their children will spend Christmas Eve with them or their ex-partner. Then there’s the rush to complete and submit paperwork to the…
As a family lawyer I am often contacted by distressed parents who are unable to reach an agreement with their former partner as to the arrangements for their children. Clients often feel they have lost the ability to be an equal parent because they are no longer living in the…
Whilst it’s not surprising that emotions can run high in divorce proceedings (we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t get upset about the breakdown of our marriage) there is a limit to what behaviour is acceptable. A recent case in the High Court (Veluppillai v Veluppillai) has highlighted the best…
As a divorce and family lawyer whenever a new client approaches me for advice on reaching a divorce settlement with their ex I find myself reminding them what a valuable asset a pension is. A pension is often the second most valuable asset anyone will ever hold (next to their…
I came across some interesting figures this week. The average age at which women marry is 37.0 years, according to ONS, slightly lower than the male mean age of 38.6 years. Seem high? Well maybe not if I tell you that these figures relate to same-sex marriage. For hetero-sexual couples, the…
A Form E is the compulsory document you are required to fill out if you are making a formal application to the court to sort out financial arrangements during a divorce. Whilst the form is daunting at first glance, most people are able to tackle it. I always suggest that…
The recent case of Joy v Joy – Morancho and others reminds us once again that a full, frank and honest disclosure of your financial circumstances must be provided to one another and to the court before financial claims can be either negotiated upon or decided by the court. In…
For the regular readers of our blog, you may recall I questioned in January (Family relationships in The Archers) whether the relationship between Rob and Helen in Radio 4’s The Archers was showing the hallmarks of domestic abuse, and specifically, of coercive control. The alarm bells in my head were,…
