Knowledge and resources

Cafcass has now rolled out its new co-parenting programme nationally. It looks like an effective strategy to get high-conflict – but not change-averse – parents back to the drawing board.

The new report stresses the need for fundamental reform and culture change. We must all take responsibility for making that change happen.

Aspiring trainees are facing a changing and uncertain landscape. There are a number of areas that they – and lawyers assessing them – can focus on to make the process as normal as possible.

Online mediation has more than demonstrated its worth to separating families during the COVID-19 pandemic, argues one practitioner.

With the number of international cases ever on the rise, a broad familiarity with other marital regimes can help to remind practitioners of the key issues.

Remote family hearings have changed the game. Will we look back and wonder why we ever did it any differently?

Recent cases are shedding light on the court’s changing interpretations of needs and sharing within the context of prenup agreements.

Necessity breeds creativity, and the current challenges have opened up a new way of working that suits a lot of clients very well. The coronavirus has a lot to answer for. Never in a million years did I picture being able to do my job from home. From the restrictions that were put upon us all, I have been able to adapt the way I work and offer a more flexible approach to suit my clients’ needs.

With the outbreak of Covid-19 many of you will not be at your offices to receive your printed copy of The Review but help is at hand. For every issue we will be publishing the articles here in the Knowledge and Resources section of our website as well as the pdf of the printed version.

This much talked-about case seemed to re-open the door to compensation claims for loss of career, but does the full judgment support that?

When targeting equal pension division, should courts look to create equality of CEs or income? And are non-matrimonial pension rights to be excluded from pension sharing? This case also highlighted the importance of the Pensions Advisory Group report, and debunked the common interpretation of H v H.

This article considers the challenges of dealing with private companies during the coronavirus crisis and whether practitioners should be applying for permission for expert valuation evidence in relation to new cases or to revalue companies that have been valued in the recent past.

In the second of a two-part article on how grandparents can be brought into when parental issues have arisen, we focus here on public law proceedings and the details of child arrangements order and special guardianship orders.

In a very sensitive and thought out judgment, Sir Andrew McFarlane P grapples with the very difficult and complex issues that often accompany forced marriage cases and the tension between the need for protection and love and loyalty to the family.

A review of the recent Supreme Court decision in Whittington Hospital NHS Trust v XX [2020] UKSC 14

A number of websites and apps help separated parents share information about their children’s needs and plan anything from diaries to mealtimes. Many also have built-in recording of conversations and tools to help reduce conflict in the co-parenting space. As these are now sometimes court-ordered, practitioners are advised to have at least a basic knowledge of what the different options offer.

This new process option combines the certainty and timescales of arbitration, with mediation’s potential for self-determination and constructive negotiation.

It is hard sometimes to help parents focus on the legalities of the divorce when they are in emotional turmoil and looking to their lawyer for emotional support. So how do we define our boundaries in a way that is both supportive for our clients with children, and helpful for us?

How can the family lawyer best ensure that client need is fully met in the difficult divorce?

There are many reasons why separating couples can benefit from involving therapists within or alongside proceedings – and there are benefits for the solicitors or mediators too