Wife gets increased lump sum to cover legal costs A wife who had incurred some £180,000 debts, mostly comprising legal costs of her divorce, has had her divorce settlement increased, to help her to pay the debts. In the case the judge found that the wife needed £475,000 to rehouse herself, and that was the […]
A judgment summon, family hubs and the Lugano Convention
Husband loses appeal against prison order A husband who was ordered to be sentenced to six weeks in prison unless he paid a lump sum instalment to his wife has lost his appeal against that order. In January 2020 the husband was ordered to pay a lump sum of £5,878,732 to the wife. The lump […]
Marriages Cafcass figures and domestic abuse
Statistics reveal lowest marriage rates on record The Office for National Statistics (‘ONS’) has published its latest annual statistics for marriages in England and Wales, for 2018. The statistics showed that there were 234,795 marriages in England and Wales in 2018, a decrease of 3.3% compared with 2017, and the lowest since 2009. Marriage rates […]
Costs mediation and census figures
Father must pay mother’s costs before proceeding with appeal A father who wished to appeal against orders made in proceedings relating to his children was ordered to pay the mother’s costs of those proceedings, before he could go ahead with the appeal. The case involved complex children proceedings, in which the court ordered the father […]
Child support and legal aid
Old Child Support Agency cases continue to decline The number of cases dealt with by the Child Support Agency has continued to decline, according to the latest statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions. The Child Support Agency (‘CSA’) was set up in 1993 and in 2012 the Child Maintenance Service (‘CMS’) was created […]
Remote hearings and adoption support
Remote hearings still need improvements to ensure fairness More than 3,200 professionals (lawyers, magistrates, judges, social workers and others in the family justice system), parents and other family members from across England and Wales have shared their experiences of the family court over the last year as part of a rapid consultation by Nuffield Family […]
Costs, a settled case and support for cohabiting couples
Husband criticised for “intransigent stance” A judge has criticised a husband for what he called the husband’s “intransigent stance” to negotiating the settlement of a divorce financial dispute. The judge said that the husband’s stance rendered the case ‘unsettleable’, as a result of which nearly £900,000 of legal costs were incurred. Mr Justice Mostyn said […]
Remote hearings, Cafcass and FDACs
All of the news this week comes from the President of the Family Division, who has provided an update upon recent developments in the family justice system. Pandemic response The President has expressed his respect for the way in which the family courts responded to the pandemic, moving almost on one day from normal to […]
Remote hearings, domestic abuse and child maintenance
Remote hearings may impede justice, warns Law Society Access to justice must be the principle consideration when deciding if remote hearings in family courts are appropriate, the Law Society of England and Wales has warned, in its response to a consultation by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory on family justice recovery plans following the pandemic. […]
Drug tests, Cafcass and child maintenance
Police investigating drug tests It has emerged that Greater Manchester Police are investigating the possible falsification of thousands of drug tests at a forensic laboratory. The tests, which analysed hair, blood, and urine for quantities of illegal substances, were used in criminal, family, coronial and employment cases. The investigation has uncovered 27,000 test reports which […]
