Tuesday December 18, 2012 at 9:00am
A change is a good a rest, they say. And I have certainly made a change. I have the honour of being Woolley & Co’s most recent appointment to the growing firm. And so far, touch wood, all is good.
It’s the change to the routine that has baffled me so far. Being home-based rather than in a high street office is a bit strange. I am not sat next to anybody but I get all the support I need. Everyone has been fantastic. For most of my career I have worked in an office sur....
Tuesday November 27, 2012 at 11:02am
Only 15 per cent of divorced women say that pensions featured in their settlement, according to new research. 15 per cent! That’s shocking. We know that sorting out the finances can be the most complicated part of any settlement on divorce but I have to admit to being surprised that so many people are still simply not considering any pension pot as an asset on which both parties have a claim.
The eighth annual Scottish Widows Women and Pensions Report, published this month, showed on....
Wednesday August 29, 2012 at 9:00am
Delays, red tape, rising costs, inconsistency between courts – these are issues facing the whole courts system. The Family Justice Review has brought some of these into clearer focus in family law and while it may be the “children in care” cases that are getting most, though not all, of the headlines surround the topic, there are clear parallels to the divorce, contact and financial hearings which sit alongside them in the family courts.
The same issues keep coming up over and....
Thursday August 23, 2012 at 9:00am
We have tried over the past few years to dispel some of the most common myths surrounding marriage, divorce and separation. We have produced a book on this topic, founded a website, regularly Tweet about it and cover some of the most common topics on occasion through this blog. However, an item that was running in the news last week (Guru to the stars in Court over common law divorce) illustrates why we have to keep plugging away on this and why our work is likely to never be truly complete.....
Monday August 20, 2012 at 10:00am
Changes in Legal Aid funding have been impacting family law in many ways, not least in the number of people deciding to represent themselves in divorce proceedings because they believe they cannot afford proper legal representation. Andrew has touched on this topic a number of times in the last few months, and how it is already affecting the time it takes courts to deal with cases.
A big issue also is form filling. It is not very exciting but this is a vital part of the divorce process....
Thursday August 16, 2012 at 9:00am
I’m not a great fan of the letters page in the newspapers, reading them only if I’ve exhausted everything else in the paper but this week one of my own clients sent me a cutting from a newspaper he’d been reading and asked: “Is this what we are trying to protect me against?” I thought it might therefore be worth picking up in this blog.
The question raised in the letter to the paper related to whether or not an ex from whom you split years ....
Monday June 25, 2012 at 9:00am
Did you hear the one about the comedian and the tax loophole? It’s been difficult to miss it the last week or so, though there is no witty punchline. Jimmy Carr has been on the receiving end of a tidal wave of criticism, and not a few jokes, after the revelation that he was exploiting a tax loophole to pay just 1p in the pound tax on his not insubstantial income.
After the news broke about his use of the K2 tax haven, he moved quickly to disengage himself from the scheme and apolog....
Monday April 2, 2012 at 9:00am
There are many things you can plan for a wedding day and some things you can’t. The dress, the photographer, the flowers and the disco in the evening are fairly straightforward. The guest list and seating plan can be trickier, but you can be sure that someone like the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are not going to just turn up on the day. Except that wasn’t quite the case for John and Frances Canning, married at Manchester Town Hall last week, when HRH, in the city as part of....
Thursday January 12, 2012 at 9:00am
If you’re anything like me, then the world of investments and pensions is something alien. I am ill equipped to make more than the most superficial foray into their machinations and so rely on the experts to advise me on the right moves to make, where we are at and where we are likely to end up.
This attitude could explain why, when considering a divorce settlement, many people still don’t think of the pension pot as an asset to be divided. They are either aware it is there but....
Monday October 24, 2011 at 9:00am
I think the generally accepted wisdom, which of course is the favourite kind and has no basis whatsoever in law, is that if an individual buys a Lottery ticket and their numbers come up, their other half is entitled to half. I guess that should read that they would share their winnings but if they split up, it would be divided between them. Well, a ruling last week suggested that is not always the case – and it could send shockwaves through households across the country as long-held ....
Monday August 8, 2011 at 9:30am
She was one of the original supermodels and famously uttered the oft-quoted line: “I don’t get out of bed for less than £10,000.” She still cuts a stunning figure with looks that many women would die for. But at 46, Linda Evangelista has gone down in my estimation this week. Considerably. I’m sure it won’t bother her but anyone who can still command vast sums for appearances and modelling does not need to argue in court that she needs £28,000 a month fro....
Monday August 1, 2011 at 9:30am
There are many occasions when you might think: “Well, they would say that, wouldn’t they?” Like when the manager of a football team which has just won 5-0 says: “We deserved to win”. Or when the chief executive of a car manufacturer says: “We make the best cars in the world.” They would say that.
I had the same feeling when I read comments last week that the English legal system is “superb”. Now, it is nice to get some praise for on....
Wednesday June 22, 2011 at 2:43pm
Plumber Ian Puddick has recently been in the news after he was arrested and charged with harassment of a Mr Haynes with whom Mr Puddick’s wife had an affair. He was found not guilty.
Mr Puddick set up a website, twitter account and linkedin account all designed to expose Mr Haynes as an adulterer. Interestingly Mr Puddick reconciled with his wife, but what did he really hope to achieve from his actions?
No doubt he was upset and angry, but if he thought that drawing public attention to....
Thursday April 28, 2011 at 10:00am
Students, bless them, have been in the news more than normal over the last few months over tuition fees. Universities will be able to charge up to £9,000 a year in tuition fees to balance a cut in funding announced in the Government spending review last year. The maximum had previously been capped at £3,290. This will inevitably further impoverish the lowly student and do nothing to dispel the caricature of the dishevelled under-graduate in second hand clothes, paying for a loaf of b....
Tuesday March 15, 2011 at 10:00am
I read about a survey last week which suggests that an increasing number of parents are reluctant to leave money to their married children in case they get divorced and the other party gets their hands on a chunk of it. The research shows 35 per cent of parents had concerns and did not want to leave assets to their children for fear some of it might be siphoned off by an estranged partner in any settlement. This was brought fully into focus for me when one in four parents said they had doubts wh....
Thursday February 24, 2011 at 10:00am
“A man left disabled after a road crash could be forced to sell his home after a judge ordered him to hand more than half his compensation payout to his ex-wife.”
This intro from a story in the Daily Mail last week is the type of thing that makes me angry. Not the fault of the Mail (on this occasion!) but more the original decision of a judge which sends the wrong message and puts family law in a bad light. Divorce and divorce lawyers don’t need any help, generally speaking, ....
Thursday February 3, 2011 at 10:00am
As family law specialists, we would always advise clients involved in divorce proceedings to keep a level head, look for a fair settlement and to secure a Clean Break Order to draw a line under the settlement once and for all. In short, be sensible, fair and final.
If an individual really does not agree with a settlement, there are routes available to challenge it, but this can be costly and draw out a painful process even longer. However, there are cases where this appears to be the only ....