Journal
When the Wife Becomes a Widow: The Effect of Death on Financial Provision Claims
In this world, nothing can be certain except death and taxes.’ So Benjamin Franklin is said to have written to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy. Taxes and their impact are usually closer to the front of the minds of those going through divorce or a dissolution of a civil partnership, but occasionally death can rear its head, and cause significant disruption to those anticipating or venturing into a new structure to their lives following the breakdown of their family.
- Journal
- Personal Representatives
- divorce
- Death
- Financial Remedies
- Wills
- Intestacy
- Inheritance
!18/03/2025 06:00
Money Corner: New Tax Landscape for High Net Worth Divorces
The dust has (almost) settled following the Autumn Budget and April 2025 will bring about one of the biggest overhauls of the way the UK taxes foreign individuals in decades. This piece covers the changes to the non-domicile (non-dom) regime and the other smaller measures announced in the budget that will have an impact on high net worth (HNW) and international divorces.
- Journal
- Money Corner
- High Net Worth
- Tax
- Non-Domicile
!18/03/2025 06:00
Interview with Sir Nicholas Francis
Nicholas Allen KC and HHJ Edward Hess interviewed Sir Nicholas Francis over dinner in December 2024, a few months after he retired from the High Court Bench.
- Journal
!18/03/2025 06:00
Family Proceedings and Litigation Capacity
An integral yet little discussed part of our role as family law professionals is to ensure that our clients, and other parties and witnesses, are able to fully engage in the proceedings. When we refer to proceedings in this context, it is important to note that this incorporates both the court process and any voluntary process. This can relate to vulnerable parties, such as parties who are victims of domestic abuse or parties with a disability, or protected parties.
- Journal
- Official Solicitor
- Mental Capacity Act
- Capacity
- Litigation Friend
!18/03/2025 06:00
Principles vs Resources: Conduct and the Law Commission Scoping Report
The Law Commission’s long awaited scoping report on financial remedies was published on 18 December 2024. It concludes that the law relating to financial remedy should be reformed. We asked the Law Commission to clarify whether their concerns in respect of the fairness of the outcomes was restricted to litigants who had experienced domestic abuse in their marriage.
- Journal
- Conduct
- Law Commission
!18/03/2025 06:00
Domestic Abuse, Nuptial Agreements and Financial Remedies: A Cultural Shift?
As family practitioners will know, the dynamics involved in negotiating nuptial agreements are no less nuanced than those in other parts of our work. There can be power imbalances, cultural clashes and differing perceptions of fairness.
- Journal
- Domestic Abuse
- Conduct
- Nuptial Agreements
!18/03/2025 06:00
Reflections on the Law Commission Scoping Report in Relation to Pensions on Divorce
Chapter 10 of the Law Commission’s Scoping Report is devoted solely to pensions, an issue to which its terms of reference specifically refer. The report makes for concerning reading; it notes that many divorcing couples separate without a pension sharing arrangement in place and that some do not even consider their spouse’s pensions in negotiations.
- Journal
- Law Commission
- Pensions
- Scoping Report
!18/03/2025 06:00
Her Honour Judge Isobel Plumstead (1947–2024) – An Obituary
HHJ Isobel Plumstead was born on 19 July 1947 and died on 30 December 2024. She was one of the best judges of her generation. The memories which have been shared since her death by lawyers who appeared in front of her, or whose careers she assisted, show that her qualities of great intellect, compassion, common sense and generosity were appreciated by many.
- Journal
- Obituaries
!18/03/2025 06:00
Chair's Column (Spring 2025)
This is the first issue of the FRJ since the Law Commission’s ‘scoping report’ was published in December 2024. The essence of a scoping report is that it steps back and paints an overview. It presents options (to the government or to Parliament); but does not seek to recommend or even identify a clear way forward. The downside of this exercise is that it doesn’t really solve anything.
- Journal
!18/03/2025 06:00
The Summary of the Summaries (Spring 2025)
Summaries of recent cases including WW v XX [2024] EWFC 330 (B)(HHJ Hess) – final hearing involving valuation and matrimonial nature of business – and Mainwaring v Bailey [2024] EWHC 2614 (Fam), FC v WC [2024] EWFC 291 and A v M (No 3) [2024] EWFC 299.
- Journal
!18/03/2025 06:00
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