After two years of intensive research the Pension Advisory Group has published an essential guide clarifying the legal treatment of pensions on divorce. Pensions are often the single largest asset after the family home for divorcing couples, yet a lack of understanding and clarity across England and Wales has led to confusion as to how
A divorcing husband has been ordered to disclose documents relating to his financial affairs, despite claiming that doing so could lead to his arrest. The case involved a businessman whose wife believed he had an interest in a German company that he was refusing to disclose. Two months after the wife had started divorce proceedings,
A banker is suing his ex-wife for £500,000 after she refused to move out of their marital home following their divorce. Kerim Derhalli says that his ex-wife Jayne Richardson Derhalli had been ‘trespassing’ at the £6m property. When the couple divorced after 17 years of marriage, they agreed a ‘clean break’ consent order to divide
A leading lawyers’ association says that cohabiting couples should have automatic rights to inherit if their partner dies without making a will. Under current law, a surviving partner must apply to the court to obtain financial provision or a share of the estate if their partner died intestate, that is, without having made a will.
Pre-nups are becoming increasingly popular and although they are not legally binding automatically, they are now usually upheld by the courts if they are fair to both sides. If they are not fair, it’s possible that they will be overturned, as happened recently in the High Court. The case involved Morgan McConnell, who is an
Judges will not allow parents to make numerous contact applications spanning several years if the process could be detrimental to their children, as illustrated in a recent case before the Court of Appeal. The case involved a couple who had separated when their children were aged five and two. The mother had made unproven allegations
The government has confirmed that it will introduce new legislation to end the blame game for divorcing couples. It’s hoped the new approach will help reduce family conflict. The move follows a public consultation where family justice professionals and those with direct experience of divorce voiced their support for reform. New legislation will therefore be
A cohabiting couple whose relationship has broken down will walk away with an equal share of their £1m home due to a conversation they had in a pub. That was the decision of the High Court in a case involving Claire Chipperfield, 52, and Andrew Horn, 58, who lived together for 15 years and have
A mother should be allowed to keep her children with her in England even though she had detained them against their father’s will. That was the decision of the Court of Appeal in a case involving a family that had lived in both the UK and Australia. The mother, who was English and the father
Cohabiting couples are being urged to draw up living together agreements to decide in advance how their assets should be divided if their relationship breaks down. The Law Society points out that unmarried cohabiting couples are the fastest growing type of family in the UK. Many of them assume they have the same legal rights