Family Law Blog : June 2016

As we get closer to the school summer holidays people's thoughts will be turning to trips to the seaside and holidays abroad. It's also this time of year when solicitors start getting enquiries from divorced and separated parents about being able to take their children away on holiday.

When I took a call a few weeks ago from my local newspaper asking for a comment on a report stating that 2.87 million Britons were in ‘distressed relationships’ I was at first stumped. Where had these frightening figures come from, and what did they really tell us?

Well, the case finally is settled. In court last week, we got a conclusion to the long-running Wyatt v Vince financial award case. You may remember that we blogged on this last year (Vince v Wyatt case shows consent orders are essential). And it is a perfect example of the importance of getting a court order at as part of the divorce process to ensure your ex-spouse cannot come back at a later date and make financial claims against you.

With an increase in international marriages and an ever growing number of couples living and working across several countries during their marriage, it pays to understand how to deal with assets that may be based in different countries if you are getting divorced.

‘Divorce mortgages’ hit the headlines in recent weeks as banks and mortgage lenders put forward ideas for new ways a divorcing couple may be able to borrow money to “buy-out” the other and hold on to the family home themselves. A so called “divorce mortgage” is an innovative idea on how lenders might package their products with repayment being made at the end of the term instead of in monthly instalments. How much interest would be charged is yet unknown.