May 2017 #166 – Law Journals

Cohabitants: Best-laid plans

Nicola Meldrum provides guidance on the drafting of cohabitation agreements and the enforceability of such agreements ‘It would be wise to take expert advice from a tax specialist, private client practitioner and a property specialist to ensure that the agreement sufficiently incorporates these areas where necessary.’Although marriages remain the most common type of family unit …

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Periodical Payments: For better, for worse

Caroline Holley examines dependence, independence and variation in the context of joint lives maintenance orders ‘It has become common practice for a financial remedy order to include a recital indicating the timeframe within which it is intended that a spouse will return to work, or a commitment by them to endeavour to maximise their earning …

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Delay: Measuring time

Matthew Taylor looks at delay in financial proceedings and the more generous approach taken by the court in Briers v Briers ‘The judgment in Briers makes it clear that a delay in launching an application does not prevent the court making an award on a sharing basis.’It seems that, much like buses, you wait an …

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Pensions: Making a distinction

Rayner Grice highlights the impact of a Supreme Court decision on pension rights and the implications for cohabiting couples ‘Currently the law still greatly distinguishes between those couples that are married and those that are not, despite the fact that the practicalities of day-to-day living and their needs, and particularly the needs of their children, …

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Civil Partnership: Assessing the options

Danielle Taylor considers the arguments for and against making civil partnership available to opposite-sex couples ‘All three judges in the Court of Appeal in Steinfeld agreed that the bar at s3(1)(a), CPA 2004 is discriminatory, and that the argument that the appellants could have their relationship legally recognised by way of marriage did not provide …

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Privacy: Clear as mud?

Rebecca Harling summarises the approach to privacy in family proceedings and asks whether the current system lacks clarity ‘Within the sphere of family justice, as with many other practice areas, the desire to promote transparency and the right to a fair hearing must be carefully balanced with the right of privacy.’ Open justice is one …

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Enforcement: Into thin air

Laura Guillon analyses a Court of Appeal decision where international assets and a reluctant party prevented the implementation of a financial consent order ‘The test for determining one or more of the circumstances in which a final consent order may be reviewed will vary, as while, for example, it is necessary to prove a fraud …

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