In the UK, 93% of children whose parents have separated live with their mother rather than their father. As a result, many people tend to assume that mothers automatically have a stronger parental right than fathers. They tend to think that the children belong with the mother. Therefore, if the mother leaves the marital home most people expect that the children to automatically move out with her. What the Law Says In reality, the law does not support this commonly held view. Both parents should be involved in deciding where the children live. This is because of something called Parental…
In the UK, 45% of first marriages end in divorce and 31% of second time marriages end in the same way. Sadly, children are involved in many of these divorces, including stepchildren. Despite this, the subject of what happens to stepchildren in a divorce is not one that is discussed much or understood. Here we will take a brief look at the subject. Staying Involved Many stepchildren want to keep in contact with their stepparent. Although there is no biological bond most stepparents and children form close relationships, which they value and want to maintain. However, the child’s birth parent…
First published by the solicitors Journal and reproduced with their permission. Most clients will be enthusiastic about being offered equity in a business; you role as their adviser is to make sure this is not a poisoned chalice, says Jonathan Silverman Not infrequently I am consulted by a client who is already working in a business in some capacity or other, who has been approached by the proprietors offering some form of equity participation. One of your dilemmas as a practitioner is the extent to which you should offer practical commercial advice as against simply explaining the legal formalities surrounding…
In the UK, 92% of children whose parents have broken up live with their mothers. This is despite the fact that the laws surrounding who gets custody of children do not stipulate the gender of the parent the children should reside with, and never has. In law it is the children who have the right to have contact with both parents. How This Situation has Come About? The practice of awarding custody (these days called a Residence Order) to the mother over the father has come about mostly because of the way society views mothers, rather than what the law…
Up until April 2013, if you were on benefits you had an almost automatic right to Legal Aid for all kinds of legal issues, including arguments over money and children during divorce. Now, only litigants who are seeking a divorce because of domestic abuse or who need to end a forced marriage will qualify for legal aid. Therefore, the answer to the question, ‘Is it possible to get legal aid for a divorce when on benefits?’ is ‘Yes, but only if you are trying to end a seriously abusive relationship’. It is important to understand that the abuse need not…
Provided both of you are resident, in the UK, getting a divorce is a relatively quick and simple process. Every year around 117,000 people get divorced in England and Wales. Usually it takes between 4 and 5 months to finalise the divorce from the date that the divorce petition is submitted. At Hylton-Potts we have a letter from the High Court judge in London, congratulating us on the speed of our litigation and responses. A copy is viewable here and we are rather proud of it Getting divorced is a three-step process, which is easy to understand and follow. Valid…
One of the trickiest parts of getting a divorce is drawing up an agreement about how assets will be divided. Many couples waste months of their lives and spend £1,000s arguing about the division of assets in court. A recent government study showed that, on average, couples who go to court to divide up their assets end up spending around £4,000 to resolve the issue. Typically, it takes around 14 months before the matter is ruled upon, and, often, neither couple is happy with the judge’s decision. Unfortunately, it is not unusual for one spouse to get frustrated and empty…
Light in dark places-opening up Family Courts to the press and public scrutiny. Judgments determining custody battles, care orders and whether children should be rehomed will now be published unless there are “compelling reasons” not to. It will also extend to other private cases in the family courts, such as divorce-related disputes and decisions affecting the health and welfare of vulnerable adults in the Court of Protection. In these cases, the presumption will be in favour of publication, if the rulings are deemed to be in the public interest, or if the judge grants a request by the media…
Extended appeal time limit for Nurses and Midwives Court of Appeal Judgment July 9, 2013 The 28 day time limit for lodging an appeal from a decision of the Nursing and Midwifery Council to strike off or discipline a nurse or midwife can be extended where the appellant personally had done all she could to bring the appeal in time. Court of Appeal said that in the Administrative Court that the 28 day time limit was absolute. But the Supreme Court had subsequently decided, in which it had held that absolute time limits might, in some circumstances, have to yield…
