It has been widely reported this week in the mainstream media that a couple had their divorce finalised in error following a mistake by solicitors which a senior judge has refused to overturn. The couple were separated and had applied for a divorce which had reached conditional order stage of the divorce. It would appear
Termination of Parental Responsibility is rarely made by the Court and only ever in exceptional circumstances. Following a recent private family law case acting for a mother who successfully obtained a termination of Parental Responsibility order to end the father’s Parental Responsibility, we asked Laura Martin-Read, Senior Associate Solicitor to explain what Parental Responsibility is
The High Court has settled a dispute relating to how much of a couple’s assets should be considered matrimonial and how much should be excluded during divorce proceedings. The case involved a couple who ran a hotel business together. The husband was 49 and the wife was 56. They had been married for 17 years
Latest Government figures show that 42% of people now get divorced. Frequently, one or both of them will have an interest in a business. Divorce can have a disastrous impact. It is therefore important to take good legal advice. The law states that on separation, all the circumstances of the case must be taken into
Separating couples will get early legal advice as part of the Government’s family court reforms, but the idea of introducing mandatory mediation has been scrapped. A legal advice pilot will be launched to help families agree child arrangements quickly, addressing barriers to early resolution including a lack of understanding of the options available such as
The number of ‘No Fault’ divorce applications has fallen significantly following the initial surge when the new system came into effect in 2022. Government figures show that in July to September 2023, there were 27,290 divorce applications. That was down 12% compared with the same quarter in 2022, which was the second quarter following the
With Family Mediation Week due to take place between 22-26 January 2024, we explain some key points about family mediation and how the process works. Family Mediation – What is it? Family mediation is designed to assist divorcing or separating couples reach an agreement in relation to financial and/or children matters that arise as a
Local members of the family justice body Resolution have welcomed new research which shows most people back a change in the law to give cohabiting people more rights. Currently, cohabiting couples have few or no rights in the event of a relationship breakdown meaning that unlike married couples there is no mechanism for splitting assets.
With Christmas fast approaching, it is important separating parents start planning early to agree their child arrangements for the festive period in advance to avoid any uncertainty and tension into the run up to the holidays. The Christmas period can be overwhelming to separating couples and emotions can run high. Issues with child arrangements can
Resolution Awareness Week and Cohabitation Reform Resolution’s ‘Awareness Week’ is taking place between 27th November and 1st December 2023. Resolution is an organisation of family justice professionals who work with families and individuals to resolve family issues taking a constructive and non-confrontational approach. All Machins Family Lawyers are committed to the Resolution Code of Conduct.