‘Stephanie Hawthorn and Abigail Pearse, associates, at Mills & Reeve LLP consider the most important news and case law relating to financial remedies and divorce during September 2022.’
Family Law Week, 17th October 2022
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘A High Court judge has called for a cap on costs in family cases after describing the “apocalyptic” state of expensive divorce proceedings.’
Law Society's Gazette, 13th April 2022
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Ms Hathway and Mr Hudson started a relationship in 1990. They had two children but did not marry. They bought a family home in joint names, with no declaration of trusts. Both worked, but Mr Hudson substantially paid the mortgage; the amount he contributed exceeded Ms Hathway’s contributions. The parties separated.’
Gatehouse Chambers, 30th March 2022
Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk
‘James Saunders provides in-depth commentary on the recent appeal decision in Hudson v Hathway [2022] EWHC 631 (QB) which considered the role of detriment (or lack thereof) in joint name co-habitation cases. Hudson is important reading for those advising upon trust of land disputes but may need to be viewed cautiously.’
New Square Chambers, 29th March 2022
Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk
‘Pensions can make up a significant proportion of family assets and should be fully taken into account when financial matters are dealt with during a divorce. Where a couple with UK pensions divorce in England, the court can make various orders to deal them. Most commonly, a pension sharing order is made hiving off a portion of one party’s pension and giving it to the other. However, where there are pension assets overseas or a divorce overseas and pension assets in the UK, the situation is more complex. There are two angles that need to be considered:
Can an overseas pension be shared in a divorce in England & Wales; and Can a UK pension be shared in an overseas divorce.’
Family Law, 28th March 2022
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘Sue Brookes, Principle Associate and Nicola Rowlings, Professional Support Lawyer, at Mills & Reeve LLP consider the most important news and case law relating to financial remedies and divorce during January 2022.’
Family Law Week, 3rd February 2022
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘Thousands more separating parents will avoid stressful courtroom battles as the Government boosts its landmark family mediation scheme with an additional £1.3 million.’
Ministry of Justice, 16th January 2022
Source: www.gov.uk
‘I asked clients, colleagues and an IFA specialising in divorce what they thought a “good” financial settlement looked like. The common thread in their answers was not, as you might expect, that it’s about winning. A “good” divorce, where the finances are concerned, is about realism and moving forward.’
Family Law, 12th January 2022
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
’23 March 2020 will be etched in the mind of generations. It was the day which brought unprecedented change to the way the world worked, not least the operation of the justice system and access to justice. Like many areas of law, the Financial Remedies Court [‘FRC’], was not prepared for the sudden and abrupt suspension of attended hearings, yet advances in technology quickly enabled the FRC to get back to work, albeit, at least to begin with, in a totally alien way for many. The use of remote hearings as a way of administering justice has now been the norm for over 20 months, and as the world begins to cautiously ‘get back to normal’, the question on the minds of all those practicing within the FRC is “what does the new normal look like?”’
Family Law, 7th January 2022
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘The High Court has refused a litigation funder’s bid to use privileged material to overturn a divorce settlement which it says deliberately provides no assets for the wife to pay the £1m she owes it.’
Legal Futures, 4th January 2022
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘It is often said that going through a divorce is similar to suffering a bereavement. However, what happens if the person you are divorcing actually dies midway through that process?’
Family Law, 12th November 2021
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘Stephanie Hawthorn, associate, and Robert Jackson, trainee solicitor, at Mills & Reeve LLP, consider the important news and case law relating to financial remedies and divorce during September 2021.’
Family Law Week, 8th October 2021
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘From 13 September 2021 it will be mandatory for any divorce petition being issued by a solicitor in England and Wales to be issued via the HMCTS online portal. Paper applications will no longer be permitted. The HMCTS online divorce and financial remedy portal has come a long way since its launch in May 2018 and this is yet another important development for the provision of digital solutions in divorce and financial remedy case.’
Family Law, 17th September 2021
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘Rose-Marie Drury, Principal Associate at Mills and Reeve, consider the important news and case law relating to financial remedies and divorce during August 2021.’
Family Law Week, 9th September 2021
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘The recent case of E v L has once again brought to the fore short marriages and their treatment within financial remedy cases.’
Family Law, 3rd September 2021
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘Should cohabiting couples be permitted to bring more comprehensive financial applications to court upon separation? This longstanding discussion amongst family lawyers in England continues and will continue afresh in the wake of the recent House of Commons Briefing Paper “Common law marriage” and Cohabitation published on 4 May 2021.’
Family Law, 31st August 2021
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘The parties became engaged in 2016 married in 2017 and separated in 2019. The parties disagreed over the date of cohabitation, the wife saying 2016 and the husband denying there was any cohabitation before marriage.’
Becket Chambers, 13th August 2021
Source: becket-chambers.co.uk
‘In E v L, Mr Justice Mostyn considered an application for financial remedies following a short marriage. He concluded the fact that the marriage was childless was irrelevant to whether there should be a departure from the application of the equal sharing principle. Moreover, there was no reason to distinguish between an accrual (of assets) over a short marriage and an accrual over a longer marriage. The statutory factor of the duration of marriage was likely to be reflected in any event in that an acquest over a shorter period was likely to be less. Mostyn J also considered the approach to valuing businesses in this case where three accountants gave “hot-tub” evidence as to the value of one of the husband’s companies.’
1 GC: Family Law, 10th August 2021
Source: 1gc.com
‘The “pre-acquired” or “non-matrimonial” argument is one which has taken up much commentary in family law circles over recent years. However, the conundrum can be even more challenging when considering personal injury damages that one party may have received in order to meet their specific needs arising from an accident or injury.’
Family Law, 12th August 2021
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘The statutory criteria to decide what is a fair financial settlement on divorce comes from the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, now almost 50 years old. In reality it derives from judge made law. This has the benefit of being responsive and able to change. It has the disadvantage that there is no public or policy input into the law or changes in the law. It has the significant difficulty that by reference to almost unfettered discretion with propensity for contradictions or nuances in the judge made law it encourages litigation and discourages early settlement. David Hodson has proposed to the Law Commission, in its request for topics for its 14th programme of reform, that there should be a review of the criteria for fair and appropriate financial settlements. This sets out his proposals for the need for reform. It is in a question-and-answer process as required by the Law Commission for any submissions. It would be very helpful to hear from other lawyers and members of the public with their opinions on whether reform is needed and, far more problematical, what that reform should be.’
Family Law, 12th August 2021
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
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