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Latest Family News

UK accession to Lugano Convention—Is the door closing?

The following Arbitration news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on UK accession to Lugano Convention—Is the door closing?

Enforcement in non-EU Member States (C (A Child))

The following Family news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Enforcement in non-EU Member States (C (A Child))

High Court’s severe criticism of a local authority’s serious failures (YY (Children—Conduct of the Local Authority))

The following Family news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on High Court’s severe criticism of a local authority’s serious failures (YY (Children—Conduct of the Local Authority))

DOLS in the coronavirus (COVID-19) era—a deputy’s perspective

The following Family news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on DOLS in the coronavirus (COVID-19) era—a deputy’s perspective

Featured Family content

Notice of acting

Case number [insert number][In the principal registryORIn the [insert court location] FAMILY court]Sitting at [insert place]Notice of...

Private children—paramountcy of the child's welfare

The paramountcy principleWhen any court determines any question with respect to:•the upbringing of the child, or•the administration of the child's...

Pension attachment orders

The power to make pension attachment orders (previously referred to as earmarking orders) arises from the insertion of sections 25B–25D of the...

The no order principle

This Practice Note explains the no order principle contained in section 1(5) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). It explains when the principle...

Practice notes

Sequestration (confiscation of assets) within contempt proceedings

Sequestration is a process for dealing with a contempt of court that would be otherwise punishable by a committal under which the assets of the...

Produced in partnership with David Salter, deputy High Court judge and Recorder 12th Jan

Practice notes

Application to vary, extend or discharge a non-molestation or occupation order

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

COVID-19

Practice notes

Grounds for judicial separation

Applications for judicial separation are relatively rare in practice. It may arise where the client has strong religious and or cultural reasons for...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Drafting the terms of a financial consent order

This Practice Note sets out the basic principles to be applied when drafting a financial consent order including the preparation and structure of the...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Capitalised maintenance—Duxbury calculations

The basis of Duxbury calculationsA Duxbury calculation is an actuarial calculation designed to identify the capital sum required to meet a periodical...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Emergency prohibited steps and child arrangements orders

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

The grounds on which a marriage is void

A void marriage is one that will be treated by the court as never having taken place. The grounds on which a marriage will be void are set out in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Undefended divorce proceedings

Online divorceOn 6 May 2018 the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) launched its online divorce service nationwide for the public acting as litigants in person....

9th Nov

Practice notes

Void and voidable marriages

The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) sets out the grounds on which a marriage is void or voidable and the bars preventing the grant of a decree...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Working with counsel

Instructing counsel to advocate on a client’s behalf should be a matter of careful thought and preparation. The role of counsel is to provide...

Produced in partnership with Ursula Rice of Family First Solicitors Ltd 12th Jan

Practice notes

Child Arrangements Programme—the procedure for section 8 applications

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

COVID-19

In-house

Practice notes

Statements of truth in family proceedings

This Practice Note is impacted by the exit of the UK from the EU on 31 January 2020. This has implications for practitioners when considering an...

9th Nov

Precedents

Specimen statement of issues for a first appointment—financial remedy application

In the Family Court sitting at [location][Case No]Between1[insert name] ApplicantAnd2[ insert name] RespondentStatement of issues for the First...

9th Nov

Practice notes

The grounds on which a marriage is voidable

A decree of nullity granted after 31 July 1971 in respect of a voidable marriage operates to annul the marriage with effect from decree absolute and...

9th Nov

Practice notes

General principles—lump sum orders

This Practice Note sets out the general principles to be applied by the court when considering whether to make a lump sum order within financial...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Declarations of parentage—procedure

The procedure for an application for a declaration of parentage is governed by the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, Pt...

9th Nov

Most recent General principles content

Q&As

In a claim against an estate for monies owed under a child maintenance order representing unpaid maintenance payments going back more than six years, do the usual limitation periods apply or does the CSA or child maintenance service have any regulations relevant to this scenario?

This Q&A considers whether there is a limitation period that applies for the collection and enforcement of arrears of child maintenance. It...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 20th Apr

Q&As

The standard order financial remedy omnibus issued by the President of the Family Division contains the wording—‘Warning: if you do not comply with this order, you may be held in contempt of court and you may be sent to prison, be fined, or have your assets seized’. Is this a penal notice, or simply a warning? Does it only need to be included if the order includes undertakings, or does it need to be included irrespective of whether the order includes undertakings?

The wording referred to above is a penal notice, in that it warns the litigants that they are at risk of committal, with its ensuing consequences, if...

Produced in partnership with Ruth Cabeza of Harcourt Chambers 14th Apr

Practice notes

The impact of bankruptcy on divorce proceedings

The impact that bankruptcy and divorce proceedings have on one another has been subject to several cases in both the bankruptcy and family courts....

9th Apr

Q&As

A financial consent order provided for a jointly owned property to be sold on the parties’ child reaching a specified age and for the proceeds of sale to be divided between the parties. If one of the parties dies shortly after the triggering event, is that party’s estate entitled to their share of the proceeds of sale under the order?

When a property is owned by a husband and wife as joint tenants, they both own the entirety of the property and the death of one results in the...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

Where a party has not complied with the terms of a financial order, and intends to make an application to set aside that order on the basis of an inheritance received by the other party, will the set-aside application and any enforcement as to the non-compliance be dealt with at the same time or will the party who seeks to enforce the order need to make a separate application for enforcement?

A financial order may be set aside on the basis of fraud, mistake, material non-disclosure, or a significant change of circumstance (often referred to...

13th Feb

Q&As

Where an attachment of earnings order has been unsuccessful due to the debtor leaving their job, can another method of enforcement be applied for to enforce arrears of maintenance such as third party debt order?

The rules governing enforcement of orders within family proceedings are primarily contained in the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI...

13th Feb

Q&As

How may an order to transfer a joint life policy be enforced where one party refuses to effect the transfer? Is there a limitation period within which an order must be enforced?

The Family Court (and the County Court) has always had power to direct that another person (usually a district judge but possibly a partner in the...

Produced in partnership with Nicholas Starks of St Ives Chambers 13th Feb

Q&As

In divorce proceedings, the petitioner agreed to apply for decree absolute at the earliest opportunity and this was recorded as a recital in a financial remedy order. The petitioner has failed to apply for decree absolute and has failed to make a lump sum payment to the respondent pursuant to the order. The respondent is not able to apply for decree absolute for another three months. Can the recital be enforced and can the respondent apply to expedite pronouncement of decree absolute?

In the absence of any undertaking, the recital of an agreement will be incapable of enforcement in family proceedings if the court would not have had...

Produced in partnership with Max Turnell of 1 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

How can an agreement in the recitals to a financial consent order be enforced?

The enforcement of recitals in financial orders does present some difficulties due to potential uncertainties surrounding the technical jurisdiction...

Produced in partnership with Christi Scarborough of 42 Bedford Row 13th Feb

Q&As

What form should be used when making an application to enforce an undertaking in a financial order to pay a mortgage?

An undertaking with a penal notice attached may be enforced by way of committal proceedings. The application is made using the procedure under Family...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

Is an application for vacant possession in family proceedings made under Family Procedure Rules 2010, 9.24? If so, what is the procedure, and is the application made in Form D11? Can such an application be combined with other applications, for example, the enforcement of a financial order by an attachment of earnings order or in relation to the breach of a non-molestation order?

Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, 9.24 gives the court power to order any party to deliver up possession of land, including any...

Produced in partnership with Nicholas Starks of St Ives Chambers 13th Feb

Q&As

When does a financial order become enforceable? Where both parties have been advised that the judge has approved a consent order but one month later the sealed version from the court is still awaited, what are the consequences for the payer of a lump sum in terms of interest payable to the payee?

The difference between a judgment and a sealed order has mainly been considered in case law in the context of appeals. In Stewart v Engel at 524, Sir...

13th Feb

Q&As

Where a judgment creditor wishes to enforce arrears of maintenance by way of an application for a charging order, is the permission of the court required to enforce arrears that are more than 12 months old in accordance with section 32 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973?

Under section 32(1) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973):‘A person shall not be entitled to enforce through the High Court or the family...

Produced in partnership with Tori Adams of 4 King’s Bench Walk 12th Feb

Q&As

What recourse is available where a party fails to sign a transfer of a property into another’s name pursuant to a consent order under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996? Can an authorised person sign the transfer? If so pursuant to what power and what is the procedure?

It is assumed, the order being made pursuant to the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA 1996), that the order is made by a...

Produced in partnership with Jonathan Edwards of Radcliffe Chambers 11th Feb

Q&As

Is it possible to enforce a periodical payments order where the payer is resident in another jurisdiction?

The location of the debtor and their assets is always the starting point when considering international enforcement. There are large parts of the...

27th Jan

Practice notes

Standard orders—committal

This Practice Note provides information about, and access to, committal standard orders issued by the President of the Family Division, Sir James...

18th Jan

Practice notes

Enforcing children orders (private law)

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

17th Jan

Practice notes

Enforcement of financial orders

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

Produced in partnership with David Salter, deputy High Court judge and Recorder 17th Jan

Q&As

What happens if one spouse dies during divorce proceedings, ie before decree absolute has been pronounced? How will this impact on any financial claims the surviving spouse may have?

The court has significant powers upon the granting of a decree of divorce to divide up the matrimonial assets. These powers are contained in the...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

Does an undertaking in a consent order bind the estate of the party giving it if they die?

This response considers the question of undertakings within the framework of proceedings under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973). Different...

Produced in partnership with Christi Scarborough of 42 Bedford Row 8th Jan

General principles

View Family by content type:

Latest Family News

UK accession to Lugano Convention—Is the door closing?

Enforcement in non-EU Member States (C (A Child))

High Court’s severe criticism of a local authority’s serious failures (YY (Children—Conduct of the Local Authority))

DOLS in the coronavirus (COVID-19) era—a deputy’s perspective

Featured Family content

Notice of acting

Private children—paramountcy of the child's welfare

Pension attachment orders

The no order principle

Most recent General principles content

Popular documents

The doctrine of res judicata

Wounding or causing grievous bodily harm with intent

Foreign exchange (FX) derivatives

Double insurance and contribution

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