A family court judge has allowed two children to return to their family, after the local authority had had them removed, due to concerns about the physical chastisement of one of the children. The two children, a five-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl, lived with their mother and her partner, the father of the younger […]

Court authorises withdrawal of child’s medical treatment The High Court has granted an application by Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust for a declaration that withdrawing intensive care from a 12-year-old boy with brain injuries is in his best interests. The boy suffered a “profound, severe neurological injury” in April, after he was found […]

A High Court judge has emphasised the duty upon parties to financial remedy proceedings on divorce to negotiate reasonably, and has warned of the costs consequences if they fail to do so. Giving judgment in a case in which the wife sought two-thirds of the assets and an order that the husband pay her costs […]

People representing themselves in court will receive enhanced legal support following £3.1 million in additional funding, the Ministry of Justice has announced. In a joint initiative with the Access to Justice Foundation, funding will be provided to not for profit organisations across the country to provide free legal support – ensuring better advice and clear […]

Court of Appeal rejects woman’s negligence claim A woman who issued a negligence claim against the solicitors who acted for her on a financial remedies application has had the claim rejected by the Court of Appeal. The woman’s former husband issued divorce proceedings in 2011. Financial remedy proceedings were then issued, and a final hearing […]

Boots offering safe space for domestic abuse victims Boots pharmacies are being used as safe spaces to help victims of domestic abuse seeking support during the coronavirus lockdown. Victims are able to contact domestic abuse support services from the company’s consultation rooms across its 2,400 UK stores. Domestic abuse charity Hestia has been overseeing the […]

It has been reported that lawyers have been “inundated” with inquiries from separated parents arguing about where their children should stay during the Coronavirus lockdown, with some trying to get the other parent sent to prison for breaking existing child arrangements. The evidence is anecdotal, but the report says that some parents are using the […]

The Department for Work and Pensions has published the latest release of annual statistics on separated families in Great Britain, for the period April 2014 to March 2018. Amongst the main stories were that in 2017/18 there were approximately 2.4 million separated families in Great Britain including 3.5 million children; 48% of separated families had […]

COVID-19, or the Coronavirus, is impacting the lives of all of us. For anyone with family law issues, however, it brings particular problems. Here, therefore, is some basic advice that we hope will be helpful, together with some links to further information. Please note that this advice is subject to change, as the situation develops […]

Family hearings at the Court of Appeal are to be live-streamed, under a joint initiative by the judiciary and government to boost transparency in the justice system. A statutory instrument laid in Parliament on the 12th of March paved the way for the project, following the success of a pilot to live-stream civil cases launched […]