Journal

What’s in a WhatsApp: Can a WhatsApp Message Transfer a Property?

What’s in a WhatsApp: Can a WhatsApp Message Transfer a Property?

The decision of Deputy Insolvency and Company Courts Judge Frith (the judge) in Reid-Roberts and Burke v Mei-Lin and Gudmundsson [2024] EWHC 759 (Ch)[[1]] is one of the first published cases since the decision of the Court of Appeal in Hudson v Hathway [2022] EWCA Civ 1648, [2023] KB

The Approach of the Family Court to Musicians’ Proprietary Interests

The Approach of the Family Court to Musicians’ Proprietary Interests

In 2001 Bob Dylan wrote ‘I always said you’d be sorry and today could be the day, I might need a good lawyer, Could be your funeral, my trial’. The bard is often right. Where a financial remedy case involves a musician, it is likely that they will hold

Two Heads, Better than One? BR v BR, in Light of BR v BR (No 2) and Vince v Vince

Two Heads, Better than One? BR v BR, in Light of BR v BR (No 2) and Vince v Vince

In his judgment in BR v BR [2024] EWFC 11, [2024] 2 FLR 217, Peel J emphasised at [17](i) that ‘[w]herever possible’ the instruction of a single joint expert (SJE) is the ‘default position’ and at [17](ii) that a ‘high degree of justification’ is required for two

Bad Behaviour and Broken Bonds: A Comparison of Conduct in 1973 and 1975 Act Claims

Bad Behaviour and Broken Bonds: A Comparison of Conduct in 1973 and 1975 Act Claims

Introduction Fifty years ago, the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (1975 Act) was enacted in an expansion of the court’s statutory powers for financial provision on death.[[1]] Two years earlier, Parliament had enacted the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) to alter the court’s

‘You Want Me to Do What Now?’ – The Return-to-Work Question and the Quiet Cost of Executive Marriage

‘You Want Me to Do What Now?’ – The Return-to-Work Question and the Quiet Cost of Executive Marriage

Introduction – the question that reveals the gap She hadn’t written a CV in 20 years. Hadn’t needed to. When her ex’s career took off, they moved every few years. She held everything else together while he earned the money. But ‘everything else’ was a lot. A job

Partnering Up: Partnership Law and Financial Remedy Proceedings

Partnering Up: Partnership Law and Financial Remedy Proceedings

The Department for Business & Trade’s most recent Business Population Estimates suggested that there are approximately 356,000 ordinary partnerships currently trading within the United Kingdom, generating a turnover of just under £1 billion. The majority of these are small enterprises involving either no or fewer than ten employees.

Smoke and Mirrors: Shams and Illusory Trusts in Divorce Proceedings

Smoke and Mirrors: Shams and Illusory Trusts in Divorce Proceedings

The existence of so-called ‘sham’ or ‘illusory’ trusts in divorce proceedings often leads to complex and intellectually engaging work for family and chancery lawyers. Identifying such trusts can significantly impact the value of the matrimonial pot and the eventual financial distribution. Remedies are typically pursued through interim applications under s