Journal

Chair's Column (Winter 2024)

Chair's Column (Winter 2024)

Duxbury For more than three decades the Duxbury tables have held a strong position in the determination of outcomes in financial remedies cases involving the capitalisation of maintenance obligations. In the Spring 2023 edition of the FRJ, we published ‘Looking Back at Duxbury 30 Years On’ by Michael Allum et

The Winds of Change – Case Management and the Financial Remedies Court

The Winds of Change – Case Management and the Financial Remedies Court

Introduction Once upon a time, not so long ago, ‘ancillary relief’ was something of a legal backwater. Cases were determined solely by reference to ‘reasonable requirements’.[[1]] Procedural rules, to the extent they existed,[[2]] were short and loosely applied. Parties filed narrative affidavits of means and answered requests for

Demeanour and Denial (or Don’t Mention the Data)

Demeanour and Denial (or Don’t Mention the Data)

In his groundbreaking 1925 work, Die Verneinung, psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud postulated the existence of the psychological defence mechanism ‘denial’, whereby facts too painful to process or accept are rejected. Examples of its applications abound. It provided the starting point for Ernest Becker’s The Denial of Death – in which he

As the English Family Court Grapples with a New Direction of Travel for Non-Court Dispute Resolution, What Are the Likely Impacts of Recent Changes and Are We at Risk of Putting the Cart before the Horse?

As the English Family Court Grapples with a New Direction of Travel for Non-Court Dispute Resolution, What Are the Likely Impacts of Recent Changes and Are We at Risk of Putting the Cart before the Horse?

Pre-action reform – the background Over recent years, there have been an increasing number of public consultations and reports considering how to support the earlier resolution of civil disputes, both within the Family Courts and across other areas of practice. Whilst there are, of course, many benefits to the early resolution

Non-Court Dispute Resolution and the New Protocol – Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth…

Non-Court Dispute Resolution and the New Protocol – Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth…

You don’t have to travel too far back to a time when separating families had two stark choices – negotiate or litigate. Either you did a deal or you went to court. Those days are now, fortunately, long gone but many couples have still found themselves struggling in the no

Is the Current Approach to ‘Conduct’ in Financial Remedy Proceedings in Need of Reform?

Is the Current Approach to ‘Conduct’ in Financial Remedy Proceedings in Need of Reform?

The significance and role of marital misconduct in proceedings for financial relief on divorce has had a long and varied history in family law. This article explores that history and the evolving significance of conduct within the litigation process and poses the question whether the current approach to conduct under

Balancing the Books: Equitable Accounting in Trusts of Land Disputes

Balancing the Books: Equitable Accounting in Trusts of Land Disputes

Introduction This article aims to provide the busy family practitioner with a fairly comprehensive guide to the what, where, when, and how of equitable accounting, specifically in the context of trusts of land, to assist you in getting such claims off on the right footing. In the experience of the