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Sham, Adverse Inferences and the Burden of Proof: Awolowo [2025] EWCA Civ 641
It’s often the financial remedy cases involving non-family barristers or judges which are the most interesting. There’s something about an outsider’s perspective which can illuminate legal principle and remind us that, per Mostyn J, ‘the Family Courts are not a desert island’.
- Blog
- Burden Of Proof
- Adverse Inferences
- Sham
!21/05/2025 14:00
NCDR Update – Are the Tides Turning for Failing to Mediate?
Looking back over the last 12 months, 29 April 2024 was an important day for financial remedy practitioners. This was the date the rules concerning NCDR changed. The changes make ignoring the NCDR options a costs hazard. It seemed inevitable that costs orders would follow.
- Blog
!20/05/2025 12:05
Legal Research, AI and the Canary in the Mineshaft
One of the sobering experiences of training to be a lawyer – the dawning realisation that it isn’t all dramatic cross-examination and fighting for the underdog – is legal research. Like learning a new language (let’s say, German), it’s a long and often tedious process. Some trainees, admittedly, seem to enjoy the tedium more than others. I was firmly in the ‘not enjoying this tedium’ camp.
- Blog
- AI
!09/05/2025 09:04
Judicial Immunity: an Update
A decision in Australia in August 2023 held that a family court judge at first instance had no judicial immunity when taking a decision outside his power and distinctive family court jurisdiction and was liable in damages to one of the parties. I wrote an extensive article and commentary for the Financial Remedy Journal. The case has now gone to appeal to Australia’s highest court, and it has been held that the previous decision was wrong and the judge and others acting on his orders do have immunity. This important decision may well be followed in other common law jurisdictions. This summarises the position.
- Blog
- Judicial Immunity
!06/05/2025 07:00
Standish – Reporting Remotely from the Front Line
On Wednesday 30 April 2025 I was sat at home in London, feeling somewhat retired but eager to know what the Supreme Court has to say about matrimonialisation of property and the sharing principle. So too were Mr and Mrs Standish.
- Blog
- Sharing Principle
- Gifts
!02/05/2025 11:11
Latest cases
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SM v BA (No 2: Maintenance Pending Suit) [2025] EWFC 2819 February 2025
Nicholas Allen KC, sitting as a deputy High Court judge. Application to increase maintenance pending suit (MPS) in ‘super-rich’ financial remedies case.
- Cases
- Interim Relief
- Maintenance Pending Suit
- Costs
- Legal Services Payment Orders
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DSD v MJW (Costs of MPS) [2025] EWFC 119 (B)24 April 2025
DDJ David Hodson. Proportionality and maintenance pending suit (MPS), a cautionary tale. In this case the DDJ concluded that the game was very much not worth the candle, and the application turned out to be very costly for the applicant wife.
- Cases
- Interim Relief
- Maintenance Pending Suit
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VTY v GDB [2025] EWFC 110 (B)24 April 2025
Recorder Taylor. Final hearing in a financial remedy application which concerned issues of non-disclosure and allegations of asset concealment in different countries. The matter also involved foreign litigation which appeared to undermine the existing proceedings in this jurisdiction. The parties married in 1999 and have two adult children and one aged 16. The family structure was a traditional one with H being the breadwinner and W the homemaker.
- Cases
- Foreign Assets
- Non-Disclosure
- Chattels
- Adverse Inferences
- School Fees
- Fraud
- Costs
- Duxbury Capitalisation
- Debts
- Foreign Judgments
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GH v IH [2025] EWFC 120 (B)10 April 2025
District Judge Hatvany. Final hearing on enforcement and variation of 2012 financial remedy order. The primary issue to be determined was the enforcement and variation of a joint lives periodical payments order made in 2012.
- Cases
- Periodical Payments
- Variation
- Duxbury Capitalisation
- Needs
- Enforcement
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BR v BR [2025] EWFC 884 April 2025
Peel J. Final Hearing in Ultra High Net Worth FR case involving valuations of complex business structures.
- Cases
- Sharing Principle
- Company Valuations
- Wells Sharing
- Experts
- Companies
- Costs
- Valuations
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