The LA successfully appealed a finding that a baby’s injuries occurred during an assault by F on M, rather than a subsequent event before a second admission to hospital. The child (C), the youngest of five children, suffered severe head injuries in November 2023 at just three weeks old. The parents gave differing and changing …
Continue reading “Children – fact-finding of injuries”
New guidance on the use of covert recordings in children proceedings has been published by the Family Justice Council. The guidance is aimed at both professionals and LIPs and comes against the background of an increase in covert recordings by private individuals in family proceedings. The FJC says there is a need for clear guidance, …
Continue reading “Procedure – covert recordings; children”
Under s44(2) ACA 2002, the court may not grant an adoption order unless the proposed adopter has given notice to the appropriate LA. Compliance with s44(2) is essential. In this case, the adoption application was allowed to proceed even though notice had been given to the wrong LA. For the purposes of s44(2), the ‘appropriate’ …
Continue reading “Adoption – procedure”
The issue of payment of expert witness reports often arises in family proceedings. In this public law judgment, the President of the Family Division considered what should happen where the instruction of an expert witness has been authorised and their fee is to be covered by each party equally – but it exceeds what the …
Continue reading “Experts’ fees – legal aid”
M appealed an order for overnight staying contact with F, which had been made despite a fact-finding hearing being listed in respect of alleged domestic abuse. In earlier FLA proceedings, the judge had made specific and serious findings against F – including sexual assaults, and using excessive force to restrain M. And though the judge …
Continue reading “Children – contact; domestic abuse allegations”
Surrogacy is increasingly common and enables individuals of all ages to become parents, but it comes with many legal risks. This case comes against a particularly sad background: the couple, Mr and Mrs K, were both 72 years old and had, years previously, endured several miscarriages before having a son in 1993 after several rounds …
Continue reading “Surrogacy – older parents”
In the course of care proceedings, the LA applied for full care orders and placement for adoption orders in respect of a two-year-old girl (P). P had been living with her maternal grandmother since birth. In October 2024, the judge dismissed the LA’s application for a placement order and the LA appealed, arguing that the …
Continue reading “Adoption – placement order”
The CA has detailed the principles for the appointment of an intermediary. Intermediaries may be appointed for a vulnerable person under Part 3A FPR 2010 and PD3AA. The test is that appointment is necessary to achieve a fair hearing. Whether a person is vulnerable requires a broad evaluative assessment taking account of the characteristics of …
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H was not permitted to appeal a financial order until he complied with an LSPO order, the CA has ruled. The decision came against the backdrop of what a judge in the lower court called ‘a blizzard’ of destructive litigation in a very high-value divorce case. The court has power to make an LSPO under …
Continue reading “Unless Orders – LSPO”
M successfully appealed a decision dismissing her application for the return of the parties’ younger daughter G (14) from the US. G and F travelled to the US in August 2024 as permitted by a consent order which allowed F to permanently relocate to the US with both the parties’ daughters. In the event, the …
Continue reading “Return Orders – habitual residence”