Changes to the Family Procedure Rules
On April 29th, changes to the Family Procedure Rules will be introduced. Couples in dispute...
New Judgment Re Z (Surrogacy: Step-parent Adoption)
Jemma Dally and Marie Campbell instructed Janet Bazley KC, Olivia Magennis and Melissa Elsworth from...
Judgment is now available in a complex financial remedies case conducted by Trudi Featherstone and Hannah Lamb
We are pleased to share that judgment is now available in a complex financial remedies...
The Role of Intermediaries in Family Proceedings
An intermediary can refer to a third party who is involved in assisting parties to...
Family Law Transparency Pilot Scheme
On 30th January 2023, a reporting pilot scheme was launched in the Cardiff, Carlisle and...
What is Parental Responsibility?
What is Parental Responsibility? Parental Responsibility (PR) is the power given to individuals to make...
New Law Raises the Minimum Age to Marry or Form a Civil Partnership to 18 in England and Wales.
Family law solicitor Emma Sherrington and Trainee Solicitor Bethany Lodge give insight into the new...
‘Gone to the Dogs’ – Pets & Divorce in the Family Court’
Pets & Divorce in the Family Court ‘Dog Law’ as it is sometimes known, or...
Court Backlogs Ruining Lives. Goodman Ray Solicitors Offer Free Advice During Good Divorce Week
Goodman Ray is supporting Resolution’s Good Divorce Week (28 Nov – 2 Dec), which is...
Location Location Location: Marriage Venues
The Commons Library briefing paper on marriage venues was published on Tuesday 6 July 2021...
Legal Aid and trapped capital
R (oao GR) v Director of Legal Aid Casework [2020] EWHC 3140 (Admin) Context ...
M (A Child) [2021] EWCA Civ 437
This is a case in which Peggy Ray represented the child (M), through her children’s...
Goodman Ray Welcomes Government Mediation Voucher Scheme
The government has today announced that it is investing £1m in family mediation, to support...
Uncontested vs Contested Divorce
Uncontested vs Contested Divorce – What’s the difference? Divorce is a difficult time for individuals...
Are Borders Barriers to Contact? Separated International Families in a Time of Coronavirus
Are Borders Barriers to Contact? Separated International Families in a Time of Coronavirus Living through...
How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected service of applications and Orders under the Family Law Act 1996? (The welcomed introduction of Practice Direction 36U)
How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected service of applications and Orders under the Family Law...
Advice on how to spend your first Christmas as divorced parents
The most wonderful time of the year can also be the most trying for newly...
Forced Marriage in the UK
The issues around forced marriage are by no means new, but there has been a...
Parental Alienation – recent developments
The current law provides that a couple can divorce if there has been an ‘irretrievable breakdown’ of their marriage. In accordance with section 1(2) of...
Is it time for no-fault divorce?
The current law provides that a couple can divorce if there has been an ‘irretrievable breakdown’ of their marriage. In accordance with section 1(2) of...
The protection of children and their rights in relation to the use of Secure Accommodation Orders, Deprivation of Liberty Orders made under the Inherent Jurisdiction and the Court of Protection
In this article we will consider the powers of the Family Court to deprive a child of their liberty by use of secure accommodation orders and other orders...
What is the current position in respect of public funding for women’s refuges?
In October 2017, a 54-page document was drafted by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions...
New Zealand introduces domestic violence leave
New Zealand MP, Jan Logie, initially proposed a new bill that introduced paid employment leave for victims of domestic violence in December 2016...
Is it the end for the Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) National Unit?
The Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDACs) were pioneered by the retired District Judge Nicholas Crichton in London in January 2008 on a trial basis...
Thum v Thum [2018] EWCA Civ 624
The Court of Appeal recently had to determine the issue of effective service of divorce proceedings under Article 16 of Council Regulation...
Supreme Court decides law on civil partnerships is incompatible with European Convention on Human Rights
On 27th June 2018 the Supreme Court unanimously decided that the UK’s law on civil partnerships was incompatible with Article 14...
The development of the law in relation to forced marriage in the United Kingdom
Until relatively recently, forced marriage was not a specific criminal offence, nor were there protective measures within...
Domestic Abuse Bill consultation and the Law Society’s response
On the 31 May, the Government published a consultation in preparation for the new Domestic Abuse Bill, which was proposed...
Support and Guidance for Special Guardians
A Special Guardianship Order is an order which places a child in the long-term care of someone other than their parent...
Thompson v Ragget and others [2018] EWHC 688
If a cohabiting couple do not make wills and one passes away, the survivor has no statutory right to inherit under the intestacy rules. However...
Revised protocol for referrals of families by the court to child contact centres
A revised protocol for referrals of families by the court to child contact centres has recently been published. This protocol has been implemented...
Is it time for No Fault Divorce?
Late last month Resolution – a family law practitioners group – met for their annual conference in Bristol. Resolution operates a code...
Transferring the residence of a child when a party does not comply with a Family Assistance Order
Judgment in the recent case of Re C (A Child) [2018] EWHC 557 (Fam) has been provided and has reinforced the consequences of breaching...
Should victims be cross examined by domestic abusers in the family courts?
Since the abolition of Legal Aid for the majority of family cases in 2013, many individuals are making applications to court without legal representation...
Penny Appeal publishes Islamic Adoption and Fostering Guidance
The charity, Penny Appeal, has published important guidance on Islamic adoption and fostering in the United Kingdom. The guidance comes as a result...
When can a marriage be annulled?
The vast majority of couples looking to dissolve a marriage do so by the divorce process, but there are other methods of ending a marriage...
Further misuse of section 20 of the children Act 1989 – when will it stop?
Herefordshire Council v AB [2018] EWFC 10 is a judgment handed down earlier this year regarding two cases which were described...
New Practice Guidance for International Child Abduction Proceedings
Sir James Munby issued practice guidance: Case Management and Mediation of International Child Abduction Proceedings on the 13th of March 2018...
What constitutes coercive behavior in an intimate relationship?
Domestic abuse may not always be in a physical form. A victim may not recognise that coercive behaviour has taken place as any specific incident...
Shared care of children on separation
When parents separate, issues in respect of the future arrangements for care of children can be some of the most problematic to resolve. Difficulties in...
Are Polygraph tests admissible as evidence in family proceedings?
Polygraph testing, more commonly referred to as lie detector testing, has become a popular cultural phenomenon particularly due to the significant...
Listening to Understand
It is the Family Mediators Association Mediation Week this week, and a welcome excuse to sing the praises of the mediation process as a constructive and...
Myth of the Common Law Marriage and Cohabitation Agreements
The cohabiting family is the fastest growing family type in England. Despite this, there are still currently no automatic legal rights...
Bitcoin Frenzy- Is the Family Court ready for this new development?
Despite the many reforms in family law, one could argue that the family court remains entrenched in a more old-fashioned way of dealing with matters...
