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As is well known, one of the most important matters that the court must take into account when deciding upon arrangements for children following parental separation is the ascertainable wishes of the children themselves, considered in the light of their age and understanding. And sadly one of the wishes that children quite often express is […]

Parties to a financial remedies application are under a duty to disclose to the court full details of their financial circumstances, so that the court has all of the relevant facts it needs to make a decision as to what financial settlement it should order. But what happens if there is a mistake as to […]

When the parties are unable to agree a financial settlement on divorce they will need to make a financial remedies application to the court. Financial remedy applications normally follow a fixed procedure, involving at least three hearings (assuming the matter is not agreed along the way). The first hearing is the ‘First Directions Appointment’, which […]

The law is generally averse to delay in parties making applications to the court. Indeed, in many areas of the law there are limitation periods, meaning that any application must be made within a certain time after the cause of action arose. But there is no limitation period for making a financial remedies application on […]

When a court considers arrangements for children following parental separation it must, of course, have regard to any allegations of domestic abuse by one parent against the other. Any such allegations must be fully investigated by the court and, if found proven, be taken into account in the court’s final decision as to arrangements for […]

Domestic abuse is, sadly, a common feature of divorce. And it is understandable that the victim of the abuse often feels that the abuse should be taken into account in the divorce settlement, reducing the award to the abuser. But there is no rule that domestic abuse should be taken into account in this way. […]

In most cases parents will share parental responsibility for their children, and where parental responsibility is shared that means that both parents will have an equal say in important decisions relating to the children’s upbringing (if they are unable to reach agreement upon such a decision then they can ask the court to decide the […]

Introduction The recent high profile case involving footballer Kyle Walker and influencer Lauryn Goodman has highlighted legislation that many people will not be familiar with.  Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 addresses financial provision for children, typically for unmarried couples who do not have the ability to bring a claim under other legislation. His […]

A remarkable statistic has sparked calls for cohabitants to be given basic financial and property rights on relationship breakdown. In January the Office for National Statistics published annual population estimates by marital status and living arrangements in England and Wales, for 2021/2. Decline of marriage and rise of cohabitation The estimates indicated that  whilst married […]

It is well known that the courts in England and Wales can be more generous than the courts of many other countries when it comes to financial settlements on divorce, particularly in relation to financial provision for wives. Indeed, in some jurisdictions wives may receive little or no provision from the local courts. It is […]