Knowledge and resources

How different are the outcomes for unmarried individuals in Scotland and England? To look at some of the headline differences, lawyers from each side of the border follow a couple who decide not to marry and who have connections north and south.

With the courts increasingly needing to establish historical values, robust accountancy approaches are required – but with active and passive growth, the springboard effect, and the general concept of fairness all in play, there is seldom one clear answer. 

In the first of a two-part article in The Review on the modern law of pre-nups, we look back on the Supreme Court decision in Radmacher and consider how best practice has evolved in this area.

A court-appointed receiver is a fairly draconian step, but is worth considering as one possible strategy for an unco-operative ex-spouse.

Sadly, it is not an uncommon scenario: following hotly contested divorce proceedings an order is made that requires one spouse to make financial payments over a period of months or years to the other.

In November 2019 Mrs Justice Knowles delivered a further judgment in the long-running Akhmedova v Akhmedov litigation ([2019] EWHC 3140). The judgment is a helpful summary of the law in relation to the use of illegitimately obtained documents and the circumstances in which a prima facie claim to privilege can be overridden.

In this article we will explore the background to the case, the facts and issues that arose for determination by Knowles J, the law on illegitimately obtained documents and their use in financial remedy proceedings, the law on privilege, the fraud/iniquity exception to privilege, and the decision in this instalment of Akhmedova v Akhmedov. We will finish by providing some practical guidance for practitioners.

As demographic and social change mean more grandparents getting involved in active parenting, what are their rights and what issues should family lawyers be looking out for?

Anyone reading the headlines of a number of broadsheet newspapers over the past couple of years could be forgiven for thinking that there is an imminent change of law to give grandparents greater rights in relation to their grandchildren. The truth is that no such change is expected in the near future, despite pressure from interested groups.

Draft legislation has been released which will impact divorcing or separating couples who are disposing of their main residence and/or transferring ownership to their former spouse or civil partner.

In this article for The Review Alison Palmer examines how the new rules will in most cases result in additional capital gains tax (CGT) by reducing the reliefs available. Some practical examples illustrate how the timing of transactions can have a significant impact on the resulting tax liability. As always, timing and detail are all-important in maximising the relief available, so professional tax-planning advice can be exceptionally valuable in such cases.

Moher v Moher provides a useful round up of how the courts should approach non-disclosure, as well as some thoughts on the interaction of an order to make periodical payments with the grant of a get.

The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) works for the more than one in four children growing up in poverty. This article for the Review takes a look at their work.

The ability to benefit from an ex-spouse’s superior national insurance (NI) contribution history on divorce, at no cost to either party, is one of the least-understood areas of pensions on divorce. Yet it can literally be life-changing for lower earners, and it takes only a matter of minutes to explain to clients. This article for The Review explores the issues of this topic.

An update in The Review on the parenting workshops and outreach programmes run by Kids Come First.

Must the judge who was present at the FDR hearing be disqualified from considering those points? This was the question that needed to be determined in the recent High Court case of Shokrollah-Babaee v Shokrollah-Babaee. Austin Chessell reports for The Review.

Alex Laing and Greg Williams report on The Court of Appeal judgment on Inheritance Act claims out of time for The Review.

In this article from The Review Edward Cooke analyses the activity of the private children law working group put together by the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane.

Natalie Gamble and Kelly Blaxall examine the recent ruling of the President of the Family Division in Re TT [2019] EWHC 2384 and its significance one for transgender and non-binary parents who conceive children after transitioning in this article from The Review.

In this article for The Review Graeme Fraser reports back on the Dispute Resolution Conference family justice Question Time from the DR Conference 2019

In this article for The Review Gemma Hope reports back on the "Using words well: how we can find solutions through language" workshop from the DR Conference 2019

This fascinating workshop at the DR Conference 2019 explained how the left side and the right side of the brain process information in very different ways, so it can be well worth bearing in mind which aspect of the brain you want to talk to and with. James Carroll reports on it for The Review.

In this article for The Review Carrie Rudge reports back on the "Helping emotional parents towards good outcomes" workshop from the DR Conference 2019.

In this article for The Review Mei-Ling McNab reports back on "The pros and cons of early neutral evaluation" presentation from the DR Conference 2019.