Family weekly highlights—20 November 2025
This week's edition of the Family weekly highlights includes details of a speech by the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, on the most effective way for the family courts to engage with cases where there are allegations of domestic abuse, the Lady Chief Justice’s recently published annual report and the Law Commission’s proposed new framework to modernise contempt of court laws. Analysis of dealing with beneficial interests in the family home is set out. Recent judgments on the adoption of children born under surrogacy arrangements, applications for leave to pursue financial remedy proceedings following a foreign divorce and applications to set aside return orders under the 1980 Hague Convention are also considered. Two flowcharts and a checklist have been added on reporting restriction order applications in family proceedings and giving advance notice to the media of a reporting restriction order application. A subtopic dedicated to maintenance payable via the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has also been added, including a new Practice Note on changing and challenging a maintenance calculation or other CMS decision.