The LA applied for a care order in relation to a six-year-old (P). The application emanated from lengthy private children proceedings. The LA had eventually become involved and P was removed from M’s care in October 2023 under an interim care order. At the hearing for an interim order, there was a wealth of evidence …
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J was granted a declaration of non-parentage in respect of 16-year-old twins he was financially supporting. The children were born as a result of IVF treatment in Cyprus. The parties married in April 2008, three months before the twins were born. Sadly, they separated in 2009 and J had no contact with the twins since …
Continue reading “Child maintenance – declaration of non-parentage”
Was an older child’s expressed wishes and feelings the result of M’s influence and not, therefore, genuinely felt? This was a key issue of disagreement concerning a girl (C) at the centre of long, complex private law proceedings – the most difficult and depressing case Hale HHJ said he had ever presided over in 17 …
Continue reading “Child arrangements – child’s wishes”
A party’s poor conduct, including persistent abusive communications, was not ‘exceptional’ enough to impact the final financial award. The key issue in dispute in this high-value case was the valuation of a company. The parties had been married for 19 years and had 12-year-old twins who lived with W. W had applied for financial remedies …
Continue reading “Financial remedies – conduct; company assets”
Two key issues in these proceedings following a 40-year marriage were the valuation of H’s company shares, and how the consideration received by W for the sale of another company should be treated. W is British; H holds dual British and US citizenship and worked in finance. In 2012 H purchased 1,000+ Bitcoin at a …
Continue reading “Financial remedies – company assets”
The CA refused to make a placement order in favour of the aunt and uncle of M, who was 14 months old. M has been in care all his life but the aunt and uncle were not a realistic option for the placement. M’s mother has four children from a previous relationship. Soon after commencing …
Continue reading “Adoption – placement order”
Alienating behaviours vary in intensity, and in the extent of the emotional, social and psychological impact on the children. Such behaviours include manipulation, false allegations of abuse and encouraging bad feeling towards a parent. There is not yet any formal legal definition of parental alienation, but the Family Justice Council issued valuable guidance on the …
Continue reading “Children – parental alienation”
The government has updated its policy paper: ‘Commonhold White Paper: The proposed new commonhold model for homeownership in England and Wales‘. This is a topic which practitioners may need to become conversant with. While commonhold has been with us for 20 years, its meagre take up meant that it was largely consigned to history. However, …
Continue reading “Commonhold – White Paper”
A slightly different tax story – LeO has recently released an article aimed at helping firms to deal with complaints from clients who were not able to complete their purchase before the change to SDLT rates coming into effect on 1 April 2025. All property firms should read it but some interesting comments from LeO …
The MoJ has issued an update on the increases to selected court and tribunal fees which come into effect on 8 April 2025. The majority of the 171 fees in scope will be increased by 3.2% to reflect the change in CPI between March 2023 and March 2024, with a small number of fees increased …
Continue reading “Court and tribunal fees – update”