The Justice Secretary David Gauke announced today the archaic divorce laws will be reviewed to end hostility between divorcing couples. The current position Couples must divorce on the ground of ‘irretrievable breakdown of the marriage’ established on one of the five following grounds: Two years separation with consent Five years separation Unreasonable behaviour Adultery Desertion
The Justice Secretary, David Gauke, has confirmed that the government is planning to reform divorce law to end the ‘blame game’ that can cause so much stress for some couples when they separate. Under the current system, there are five reasons for being granted a divorce by the courts: adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, two years
The Family Court has ruled that a 10-year-old boy who was abducted by his father and taken to England should be returned to his mother in Portugal. The mother and father, who also had a daughter aged 16, had separated in 2009 and subsequently divorced. In 2014, the father relocated to England but travelled to
Nearly half the people in England and Wales still believe in ‘common law’ marriage, with many cohabiting couples unaware of the risks they run if their relationship breaks down. A survey carried out by the National Centre for Social Research and Exeter University found that only four out of 10 people realised that cohabitation does
The High Court has outlined the issues to be considered when deciding whether a teenage father should be told that he has a child if the mother doesn’t want him to know. The case involved a mother who had become pregnant at 13 but was unaware of her pregnancy until her waters broke. Her family
A husband has failed in his attempt to get a £2m lump sum from his wife as part of their divorce settlement. The court held that there was nothing to justify such a payment. The husband and wife had married in 2007. They divorced in 2016 and had a six-year-old son. They had lived in
Press Release – 31st January 2019 With legal aid drastically cut back, Machins Solicitors is delighted to be supporting a national, not-for-profit social enterprise working to provide accessible support to families through the difficulties of separation and divorce. Paul Owen, Kathryn Ainsworth and Joe Colley are delighted to have contributed to 101 Questions Answered About
The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) has backed government plans to introduce a no-fault divorce system and urges parents to seek legal advice at an early stage to reduce potential conflict. In a statement it said: “Early legal advice in the divorce process would be advantageous to parents to help them
We live in uncertain times. Brexit is around the corner. We don’t know what type of Brexit it will be and how it will impact on our finances. Property prices have been stagnant or even fallen in the South East over the past 12 months. There is no expectation they will recover any time soon.
A divorced husband’s sister has been held in contempt of court for failing to provide business records to his former wife. The dispute arose because following divorce proceedings, the husband was ordered to transfer to the wife his 100% shareholding in a property management company. However, he didn’t provide the necessary information to enable the