November 2013 #131 – Law Journals

Decree Absolute: Seeking closure

Claire Glaister looks at the powers of the court upon an application for decree absolute by the respondent to divorce proceedings ‘The court has discretion to make or refuse to make a decree absolute but generally will only stay the pronouncement of the decree in exceptional circumstances.’ It is not unusual to represent a respondent …

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Costs: No order or a clean sheet?

Richard Adams sets out a reminder of the courts’ approach to costs orders in family proceedings ‘The approach of the court in making costs orders will depend on the exact nature of the proceedings, although the types of costs orders available remain the same.’ The recent Court of Appeal decision in Solomon v Solomon [2013] …

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International Focus: Across the globe

In the first of a two-part analysis Suzanne Kingston, Adele Pledger and Paulina Sandler compare approaches to spousal maintenance in a range of jurisdictions Given the increasingly international ingredients that make up the family lawyer’s workload, it is useful to compare how different jurisdictions approach the issue of spousal maintenance on relationship breakdown. This is …

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Contact: The impact of delay

Kate Elliott discusses the decision in Re A and the implications of protracted proceedings in intractable contact disputes ‘A parent’s implacable hostility should rarely deter the court from ordering contact where the child’s welfare required it.’ In Re A (a child) (intractable contact proceedings: human rights violations) [2013], the Court of Appeal was concerned with …

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Adoption: A fresh approach?

Matthew Maynard highlights the wider implications of the Court of Appeal decision in Re B-S ‘The Court of Appeal used the judgment in Re B-S as an opportunity to set out what was deemed to be their “serious concerns” about the manner in which courts have approached “non-consensual” adoption.’ The summer of 2013 has been …

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Expert Evidence: Cautious territory

In the conclusion to a two-part analysis, Margaret Heathcote examines the procedural aspects of instructing experts and the courts’ approach to the amended rules ‘Do not expect to show up at court and “wing it” so far as expert evidence is concerned – the days where one could make a vague request for expert input …

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Fostering: Making allowances

In the second of a two-part analysis, Duncan Ranton considers recent case law on fostering allowances and kinship carers ‘To justify payment of differential allowances on the basis that the task of family foster carers and the expectations on them were different from those applicable to unrelated foster carers was contrary to the principle of …

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