Important Recent Case Developments (October 2024 to mid January 2025)

These are the noteworthy case-law developments since the last issue went to press in early October 2024. This period has seen a number of cases involving legal services payment orders (LSPOs), and we draw your attention to one in particular. In addition to this, there are several interesting cases involving international enforcement of maintenance, mistake, the effect of one party having a significant disability in a modest asset cases; and a very useful case on the effect of delays between conditional and final divorce order.

• Journal

• Polly Morgan | Case Editor

!18/03/2025 06:00

Will Delays in Converting Arbitral Awards into Court Orders Deter the Use of Arbitration?

Since the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Haley v Haley [2020] EWCA Civ 1369 there have been numerous attempts to encourage litigants and legal representatives to use arbitration to resolve family law disputes. The recent case of ON v ON [2024] EWFC 379 illustrates the difficulties which can arise when there is a change of circumstances between an arbitral award being delivered and reflected in a court order.

• Journal

• arbitration

• Michael Allum

!18/03/2025 06:00

Dealing with Private Equity Investments in Financial Remedies Cases

Investments in private equity funds are a feature of some ‘big money’ divorce cases. In some cases, investments have been made in private equity funds and those investments, or profit sharing entitlements deriving from them, form part of the matrimonial or non-matrimonial property of the parties.

• Journal

• Carried Interest
• Sharing
• Funds
• Private Equity
• Investments
• Valuations
• PE
• Remuneration

• Andrzej Bojarski KC
• Marc Samuels

!18/03/2025 06:00

Book Review: Pensions on Divorce: A Practitioner’s Handbook (4th Edition)

The 3rd edition of this handbook appeared in 2018, stating the law as at January 2018, and so a new 4th edition is to be heartily welcomed. The 7-year interval has seen two reports from the Pension Advisory Group (in 2019 and 2024), important reforms to pensions taxation legislation and changes to public sector pensions brought about by the McCloud litigation.

• Journal

• Pensions
• Book Review

• David Salter

!07/03/2025 15:15

James Turner KC (1952–2025): An Obituary

James Turner KC, who has died aged 72, was a titan of the bar. In an increasingly specialised legal world, he had a uniquely broad practice for a family barrister: financial remedies, child abduction, divorce, crime, judicial review, medical disciplinary work and administrative law.

• Blog
• Journal

• Obituaries

• Alexander Chandler KC

!24/01/2025 10:42

Report of the Duxbury Working Party (final), November 2024

A provisional version of this report was published on 2 October 2024 and invited representations for consideration by the Working Party ahead of publication of this final report. Such representations as were received are summarised in Appendix 6, and in a few instances in alterations to the text of the report. The main recommendations of the Working Party have not changed following consideration of those representations. The figures in the illustrative tables in Appendix 5 have been revised to reflect increases in the rate of Capital Gains Tax announced and implemented in the October 2024 budget.

• Blog
• Journal

• Duxbury Capitalisation

• Michael Allum
• Simon Bruce
• Sarah Hoskinson
• Lewis Marks KC
• Sir Nicholas Mostyn
• Joe Rainer
• Mary Waring

!25/11/2024 16:07

Companies House – Housing Companies’ Information

Companies House is an executive agency of the UK government’s Department for Business and Trade. It holds the UK’s register of companies, as well as the Register of Overseas Entities. It is maintained by three registrars, one each for England & Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Their objectives are to ensure proper delivery and accuracy of documents, to maintain a truthful register, and to prevent unlawful activities by companies and individuals. It is the published company information that we are interested in when it comes to financial remedies.

• Journal

• Company Accounts
• Limited Companies
• Companies House
• Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023
• Financial Accounts
• Financial Disclosure
• Financial Records

• James Hardy

!22/11/2024 06:00

Book Review: Research Handbook on Family Property and the Law

Dr Charlotte L Bendall reviews Research Handbook on Family Property and the Law by Professor Margaret Briggs and Dr Andy Hayward, published by Edward Elgar in 2024.

• Journal

• Conceptualisation
• Family Property
• Evolution
• Legal Recognition
• International Comparison
• Book Review

• Dr Charlotte Bendall

!22/11/2024 06:00

DR Corner: Early Reflections on Pre-Application Protocol – Seismic Shift or Damp Squib?

When the combined wisdom of a thousand cases leads to the identification of a particular problem, what are family judges to do about it? Publishing a judgment provides the most obvious and immediate answer. But often such pleas resemble the proverbial pebble dropped into the bottomless well.

• Journal

• DR Corner

• Harry Gates
• Samantha Woodham

!22/11/2024 06:00