Ease of travel has made international child abduction an increasing menace – but family judges have a formidable arsenal at their disposal in their relentless efforts to reunite abducted children with their loved ones. The point was made by a case concerning a little girl
A father who murders a mother nevertheless remains a father and his paternal rights have to be considered. However, as a High Court case showed, it is the welfare of children affected by such crimes that is always uppermost in family judges’ minds. The case
Physical and sexual abuse within marriages and other intimate relationships is by its nature often hard to prove. However, with the assistance of specialist family lawyers, a woman succeeded in establishing that her husband had for years subjected her to a relentless campaign of rape
Judicial separations, which recognise the breakdown of marriages without formally bringing them to an end, are nowadays relatively rare. However, as the High Court made clear in a ‘big money’ case, they should never be confused with divorce. A former couple aged in their 70s
The fairness or otherwise of pre-nuptial agreements continues to be a burning issue in English divorce cases. However, in a guideline decision, the Court of Appeal has made clear that their enforceability frequently depends on whether they make reasonable provision for dependants, particularly children. The
The best way to keep down the emotional and financial cost of divorce is to maintain a sense of compromise. In a big money case in which that signally failed to happen, a wife was hit hard in the pocket for making unrealistic financial demands.
When divorcing couples have contributed equally to their marital fortune, the general rule is that assets will be split 50/50. However, as one ‘big money’ case showed, it is not always as simple as that and complications can arise in respect of wealth that has
Any good family lawyer will tell you that the best way of minimising the expense and stress of divorce proceedings is to be straightforwardly honest. The point was well made by a case in which a successful property developer paid heavily for his misguided attempts
Those who doubt the legal advantages of getting married should take note of a case in which an elderly man was left facing homelessness after his partner’s unexpected death and had to go to court to seek reasonable provision from her estate. The unmarried couple
Dependent spouses are entitled to have their reasonable financial needs met if their marriages end in divorce – but what happens if those needs are increased by their own unwise investment choices? The Supreme Court addressed that issue in an important test case. Following the
