‘The beleaguered Judge looked from farming case to financial remedy case, and from financial remedy case to farming case, and from farming case to financial remedy case again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.’ In an area of law that has many dedicated sub-genres, few are

Between the first[[1]] and third[[2]] Farquhar reports, the members of the FRC Recovery Group – initially set up by Mr Justice Mostyn and chaired throughout by His Honour Judge Stuart Farquhar – were put to good use. A second report, A Paper to consider changes to the Practices and Procedures

The principal forms we use for capturing financial data were drafted by different groups of people, at different times and with different purposes: and it shows. As technology and non-court dispute resolution (NCDR) continue expanding, now might be the time to consider if these forms are, first, fit for purpose

Introduction 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.[[1]] This can relate to vulnerable parties, such as parties who are victims of domestic abuse or

‘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

https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewfc/2024/379 ‘There is a common misconception that the use of arbitration, as an alternative to the court process in financial remedy cases, is the purview only of the rich who seek privacy, away from the courts and the eyes of the media. If

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. As we become more alive to the prevalence and forms of domestic abuse and

A new pro bono scheme assisting litigants in person in family proceedings at the Central Family Court – background As we are all acutely aware, restrictions in the provision of legal aid following the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 have resulted in a sharp increase in the

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

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. He appeared in over 200 reported

In October 2024, a Resolution multi-disciplinary working party published a report, Domestic abuse in financial remedy proceedings. Described as a ‘groundbreaking’ consideration of the interplay between domestic abuse and the treatment of finances on separation and divorce, this 18-month project is a powerful call for change from eminent family law

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

In today’s digital age, technology has undeniably transformed the way we interact, work, and live. While technological advancements offer numerous benefits, they have also opened new avenues for individuals to exert control, manipulate, and harass their partners and ex-partners in cases of domestic abuse. In this article, we will

https://classlegal.com/products/pensions-on-divorce-a-practioners-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

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

WW v XX [2024] EWFC 330 (B) (HHJ Hess) Final hearing involving valuation and matrimonial nature of business. Keywords: matrimonial and non-matrimonial property; experts; companies; valuations Mainwaring v Bailey [2024] EWHC 2614 (Fam) (Henke J) Henke J ordered the husband to pay the wife’s costs assessed on a standard

.png) 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 If I remember correctly, you didn’t originally want to be a family lawyer, you wanted to be a shipping lawyer. Is