Thursday December 22, 2011 at 9:00am
It’s a legal challenge that is not altogether unexpected but still one that I hoped I wouldn’t see. It seems 30 of the country’s largest criminal defence firms are refusing to engage with a Crown Prosecution Service plan to go paperless by April next year. And in so doing they have again highlighted just how 19th Century the thinking of some firms remains well into the 21st Century.
The target is part of a programme to computerise the criminal justice system and save £....
Monday December 19, 2011 at 9:00am
Recent figures have confirmed the mean age for divorce continues to rise. We have spoken in the past (Divorce and the over 50s) about the rising rate for those over 50, but it seems that the trend is now being observed in those over the age of 60. So “silver separations”, as they have been dubbed, are on the up – as is the number of divorces generally.
The Office of National Statistics says the number of divorces in England and Wales rose by 4.9 per cent in 2010 to 119,....
Thursday December 15, 2011 at 9:00am
As an experienced
family solicitor, I have long been aware of the devastating impact divorce and separation can have on children, yet I was still particularly horrified to read recently the statistics from a poll undertaken on behalf of another firm of solicitors.
Most alarming to me was the revelation that “one in three children whose parents separated or divorced over the last 20 years disclosed that they had lost contact permanently with their father”. Equally concerning was t....
Monday December 12, 2011 at 9:00am
There was disappointment when the recent Family Justice Review pulled back from giving additional rights to grandparents. Initial drafts had proposed that one of the barriers to them applying to the courts for greater access to their grandchildren if their own children separate from their partner and they are struggling to maintain a relationship, be removed. However, the final report suggested no such change.
In reality it would have been a very minor victor only but it would have perhaps....
Thursday December 8, 2011 at 9:09am
I watched an interesting piece on BBC Breakfast news again this morning. The new figures for divorce are due out later and it is apparently anticipated that divorce rates will have fallen to the lowest levels since 1974.
There was a debate about the possible reasons for this – some saying that less people are getting married, or waiting until they are older to get married so they are more mature and sure that they have the right person.
Other suggestions were that in a time of econom....
Thursday December 8, 2011 at 9:00am
The Christmas holidays are fast approaching and for those parents who live separately, this can be an anxious time sorting out a schedule of contact for the children.
Many separated families have a structure where one parent is the main carer and the other spends their time with children at weekends and holidays. Holiday arrangements can produce a considerable amount of stress for both adults and children. This stress can be minimised though by some careful planning and by putting the chil....
Tuesday December 6, 2011 at 9:00am
During a year of ups and downs for many firms, not just in the legal sector, I am happy to report that Woolley & Co has performed well and expanded further. It leaves us in good shape for the 2012 Olympic year!
In recent months we have recruited three new
family law specialists: Ian Giddings, based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, Kate Brooks, in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, and Celia Christie, in Rugby, Warwickshire. That brings our compliment to 23 (including me!) dedicated family ....
Thursday December 1, 2011 at 9:00am
As we mentioned in a blog a couple of weeks ago (When is a jointly owned property not a jointly owned property?), a landmark ruling on the rights of cohabiting couples has sent a fair shockwave though the family law world. In a nutshell, a High Court ruled that Patricia Jones was entitled to 90 per cent of the £245,000 property she bought with former partner Leonard Kernott in 1985, overturning a Court of Appeal decision saying he should get half. The unmarried couple had bought ....