Category: families

When property held “in trust” is not a trust: the decision in Nazir v Begum [2024] EWHC 378 – Wilberforce Chambers

Posted September 2nd, 2024 in appeals, chambers articles, families, land registration, news, wills by sally

‘At first blush the decision of Freedman J in Nazir v Begum [2024] EWHC 378 (KB) appears counterintuitive. Section 33(1) of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (“AEA”) states that:
“On the death of a person intestate as to any real or personal estate, that estate shall be held in trust by his personal representatives with the power to sell it”.’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 30th July 2024

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

‘Grenfell is a warning to the world’: The survivors still searching for justice – The Independent

Posted September 2nd, 2024 in accidents, bereavement, building law, construction industry, emergency services, families, fire, fire services, government departments, health & safety, housing, inquiries, news by sally

‘As the Grenfell inquiry prepares to publish its final report into the 2017 tower block fire that killed 72, Nadine White speaks to those still grappling with its tragic legacy.’

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The Independent, 1st September 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

One-word Ofsted grades scrapped in England’s schools – BBC News

Posted September 2nd, 2024 in education, families, government departments, inquests, mental health, news, ombudsmen, school children, suicide, teachers by sally

‘One or two-word Ofsted inspection grades for England’s schools are being scrapped immediately.’

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BBC News, 2nd September 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Council to pay family more than £5k after placing them in B&B accommodation for six months – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 27th, 2024 in families, homelessness, housing, local government, news, ombudsmen, statutory duty by sally

‘The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has found that Birmingham City Council failed to provide suitable accommodation to a family placed in bed and breakfast (B&B) accommodation for more than 26 weeks, 20 weeks over the maximum time such accommodation can be used for homeless applicants with dependent children.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 22nd August 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Arguing incompatibility – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 23rd, 2024 in assignment, families, landlord & tenant, news, succession by sally

‘Eloise Marriott analyses the Court of Appeal’s ruling in a case where it considered whether the statutory provisions governing succession to secure tenancies under the Housing Act 1985 were discriminatory in circumstances where a family member was not able to succeed to a tenancy, as the tenant had ceased to occupy the property due to ill-health and did not have capacity to assign the tenancy to them.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd August 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Family reunion and human rights: KF (Syria) overturned in new Upper Tribunal decision – EIN Blog

Posted August 20th, 2024 in families, human rights, immigration, news by sally

‘In the newly reported Upper Tribunal decision in Al Hassan & Ors. (Article 8; entry clearance; KF (Syria)) [2024] UKUT 00234 (IAC), my client, a Syrian national, arrived in the UK through a resettlement scheme. She applied to be reunited with her siblings, as well as her nieces and nephews. This was through the standard family reunion route, outside of the Immigration Rules. Our point, inter alia, was that KF and others (entry clearance, relatives of refugees) Syria [2019] UKUT 413 (IAC) was wrong in law to only look at the sponsor’s rights, as well as the argument that the risk of refoulement in a family reunion appeal surely has to be the biggest interference in family life.’

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EIN Blog, 19th August 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

‘It’s not like you were beaten’: The horrifying misogyny vulnerable women face from the judge’s bench – The Independent

Posted August 20th, 2024 in coercive & controlling behaviour, domestic violence, families, family courts, judges, judiciary, news, women by sally

‘Domestic abuse survivors warn that – inside the secretive family courts – they are being ‘retraumatised’ by the legal system, and say judges are the worst offenders.’

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The Independent, 17th August 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

HJB v WPB: Beware the Preliminary Issue – Financial Remedies Journal

Posted August 19th, 2024 in divorce, families, family courts, financial dispute resolution, financial provision, news by sally

‘In BN v MA [2013] EWHC 4250 (Fam) Mostyn J observed:

“[24] … In Granatino v Radmacher the Supreme Court analysed very closely the nature of nuptial agreements. They pointed out that nuptial agreements come in numerous shapes and forms and can be entered into at any point before, during or after a marriage …
[26] The Supreme Court has modified the test for the treatment of these nuptial agreements, as expressed in Edgar and Xydhias and, indeed, in MacLeod, so as to provide one single test applicable to all nuptial agreements, which is this, “The court should give effect to a nuptial agreement that is freely entered into by each party with a full appreciation of its implications unless in the circumstances prevailing it would not be fair to hold the parties to their agreement”. That now is the test to be applied in every case where a nuptial agreement falls for consideration.” ‘

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Financial Remedies Journal, 16th August 2024

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

NCDR Redux: The Impact of October’s CPR Amendments – Financial Remedies Journal

Posted August 19th, 2024 in civil procedure rules, costs, dispute resolution, families, family courts, news by sally

‘One of the changes to the FPR 2010 made when the material parts of the Family Procedure (Amendment No 2) Rules 2023 came into force on 29 April 2024 was an amendment to r 28.3(7) which by the insertion of a new (aa)(ii) makes “any failure by a party, without good reason, to attend non-court dispute resolution” a basis to depart from the general starting point that there should be no order as to costs. This is repeated in para 10E of PD 3A which states “the court may take the parties conduct in relation to attending non-court dispute resolution into account when considering whether to make an order for costs in relation to the proceedings”.’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 16th August 2024

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

UK sperm donations being exported despite 10-family limit – The Guardian

Posted August 19th, 2024 in birth, children, export controls, families, limitations, news by sally

‘Sperm donated in the UK is being exported and can be used to create large numbers of children across multiple countries, contradicting a strict 10-family limit that applies in the UK, experts warn.’

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The Guardian, 18th August 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Claimant wins High Court challenge to council over failure to secure suitable accommodation, conduct lawful assessment of children – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 16th, 2024 in children, disabled persons, families, homelessness, housing, local government, mental health, news by sally

‘The London Borough of Bexley failed to secure suitable accommodation for claimant ZRR in breach of section 190 of the Housing Act 1996 and failed to conduct a lawful needs assessment of her children under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, the High Court has found.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th August 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘It’s not like you were beaten’: The horrifying misogyny vulnerable women face from the judge’s bench – The Independent

Posted August 16th, 2024 in coercive & controlling behaviour, domestic violence, families, family courts, judges, judiciary, news, victims, women by sally

‘Domestic abuse survivors warn that – inside the secretive family courts – they are being “retraumatised” by the legal system, and say judges are the worst offenders.’

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The Independent, 16th August 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Why we don’t know what’s going on in family courts – Transparency Project

Posted August 14th, 2024 in anonymity, families, family courts, news, reporting restrictions, statistics by sally

‘We hear a lot about ‘secret’ family courts because of reporting restrictions and family privacy, but there is more to genuine transparency than holding processes out in the open. To understand how a system is operating we need information based on reliable data across that system.’

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Transparency Project, 14th August 2024

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

Financial Remedies – Short Marriage – 33 Bedford Row

Posted August 13th, 2024 in chambers articles, child support, children, divorce, families, family courts, financial provision, news by sally

‘Financial Remedies – Short Marriage.’

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33 Bedford Row, 7th August 2024

Source: www.33bedfordrow.co.uk

Court of Appeal: Albanian siblings of EU nationals wrongly refused status under EUSS – EIN Blog

Posted August 12th, 2024 in appeals, brexit, EC law, families, immigration, news by sally

‘Vasa v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWCA Civ 777 (10 July 2024). The Court of Appeal held in this case that the SSHD had erred in refusing to grant pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) to non-EU nationals who were siblings of EU nationals who had exercised free movement rights in the UK before its withdrawal from the EU.’

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EIN Blog, 9th August 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Thousands of babies witness domestic abuse each year and suffer ‘life-altering’ trauma, data reveals – The Independent

Posted August 9th, 2024 in charities, children, domestic violence, families, news, police, psychiatric damage, statistics by sally

‘Nearly 130,000 babies were present at or were affected by an incident of domestic abuse in the past three years, new data from England’s police forces shows.’

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The Independent, 8th August 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Domestic abuse and the Financial Remedies Court – Transparency Project

Posted August 9th, 2024 in divorce, domestic violence, families, family courts, financial dispute resolution, financial provision, news by sally

‘This post discusses the current approach to domestic abuse in financial remedy proceedings. For those short on time and unable to read the post in full, the key conclusions you need to be aware of are; the recent decision of Mr. Justice Peel in N v J [2024] EWFC 184 is important and says if you want the court to consider domestic abuse as part of your case you will need to follow the procedure in Tsvetkov v Khayrova [2023] EWFC 130; it also says that domestic abuse will only potentially be taken into account by the court if it is exceptional and has had a negative financial impact on the alleged victim.’

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Transparency Project, 8th August 2024

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

Alerter by Tim Green KC & Georgina Pein – How to engage A2 ECHR in Healthcare Inquests – Henderson Chambers

Posted August 8th, 2024 in chambers articles, families, human rights, inquests, mental health, news, suicide by sally

‘This article provides practitioners with an overview of the law relating to inquests which engage Article 2 ECHR in the context of deaths arising from shortcomings in healthcare. It is intended to provide a pithy summary on the legal complexities in domestic and European case law and it offers some general advice on how best to engage Article 2 arguments.’

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Henderson Chamber, 17th July 2024

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Family Drug and Alcohol Courts generate “significant savings” for local authorities in comparison to standard care proceedings: report – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 7th, 2024 in alcohol abuse, care orders, children, courts, drug abuse, families, family courts, local government, news, placement orders by sally

‘The Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) could save local authorities almost £10,000 per case in legal costs compared to standard care proceedings, according to a financial analysis carried out by the Centre for Justice Innovation.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th August 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Man who murdered his mother given life sentence – BBC News

Posted August 7th, 2024 in families, imprisonment, murder, news, sentencing by sally

‘A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of murdering his mother in her Plymouth home.’

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BBC News, 6th August 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk