July/August 2019 #188 – Law Journals

Private children: Exhausting the options

Patricia Robinson and David Wilkinson discuss an appeal against an order for indirect contact where the judge’s approach to evaluation was found wanting ‘The first instance decision was criticised for giving too little weight to the gravity of the findings that the mother had emotionally abused the child and the long-term impact that would be …

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Trusts: The complete picture

Sean Hilton highlights the importance of identifying trust issues at the outset of a case and ascertaining the willingness of trustees to make distributions from such assets ‘If the court is to find that assets not held in the name of an individual are nonetheless a resource available to them, it must first hear evidence …

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Brexit: A mirror image?

Penelope Stanistreet-Keen comments on the implications for children proceedings in the wake of Brexit, and the potential impact of plans to replace the use of EU Regulations with Hague Conventions in such cases ‘Where a Hague Convention covers the same area, the government will repeal the existing EU rules and switch to the relevant Hague …

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Bonuses: Part of the pot?

Katharine Landells examines the courts’ approach to bonus income and the significance of both timing and needs ‘The Court of Appeal was clear that there is no hard and fast rule that all assets accumulated during a marriage will necessarily be shared equally on divorce.’ In determining a fair outcome for financial division on divorce, …

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Spousal maintenance: A system of Russian roulette?

Sital Fontenelle and Elizabeth Burch consider the different approaches to spousal maintenance and whether a formula for maintenance would provide clarity ‘Duxbury is clearly still the starting point – and currently the favoured approach by judges, however there is increasing interest in exploring alternative methods.’ How much and for how long is a standard question …

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Financial provision: Exceptional needs

Rachel Nicholl reviews the approach of the family courts in cases where a party suffers from ill health or a life-limiting illness ‘Health or physical impairment is just one factor the court will take into consideration, although it is very much intertwined with other elements such as housing, long-term needs, income and earning capacity.’ When …

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Overseas divorce: The first hurdle

Amy Harris looks at the requirements for leave to make a financial claim after an overseas divorce and the test to be satisfied ‘In Vasilyeva, it was the wife’s position that the husband was vastly wealthier than had been reflected in the Russian proceedings and the lack of disclosure was therefore a pertinent issue when …

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