Q&As

View Family by content type:

Practice notes

Precedents

Q&As

News

Latest Family News

Spring Budget 2021—Private Client analysis

The following Private Client news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Spring Budget 2021—Private Client analysis

Coronavirus (COVID-19)—Foreign Process Section’s availability update

The following Dispute Resolution news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Coronavirus (COVID-19)—Foreign Process Section’s availability update

Assessment of financial claims following divorce in Russia (AG v VD)

The following Family news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Assessment of financial claims following divorce in Russia (AG v VD)

Family monthly highlights—February 2021

The following Family news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Family monthly highlights—February 2021

Featured Family content

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...

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...

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...

Decree absolute—divorce

Online divorceWhere a divorce is proceeding via the online service note that while rules relating to divorce proceedings are generally to be found in...

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

Practice notes

Amended, supplemental and further petitions

The distinction between an amended petition, a supplemental petition and a further petitionWhere it is necessary in some way to amend a petition...

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 Q&As content

Q&As

Can a financial consent order include two separate spousal periodical payments orders with terms of different lengths?

The power for the court to make spousal periodical payments orders on divorce is contained in section 23 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA...

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

Q&As

A parent earns overseas income which is not included in their UK tax return, as well as UK income. Will the overseas income be treated as income for the purposes of a statutory child support calculation by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS)? If so, does the parent have a duty to disclose the overseas income to the CMS?

Where a person is resident in the UK but earns income or makes capital gains in respect of foreign income or assets, they are ordinarily obliged to...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

Where a petition for nullity is issued, does the same procedure under Family Procedure Rules 2010, SI 2010/2955, Pt 9 apply, as it would in relation to a divorce or judicial separation proceedings, on an application for a financial order? Is the position different if the marriage is void/a non-marriage, as opposed to being voidable? In both cases, will the court have regard to the factors set out in section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 in relation to the application for a financial order?

A marriage may be annulled either on the ground that it is void, or that it is voidable. Section 11 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) sets...

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

Q&As

If one party to financial remedy proceedings on divorce has a very significant inheritance at the outset of the proceedings what are the requirements for them to disclose the extent of that inheritance and when? Can requests for information be made of third parties eg the executor?

The court is not specifically referred to the question of inherited assets or the parties’ inheritance prospects by section 25 of the Matrimonial...

Produced in partnership with Nick Starks of St. Ives Chamber 13th Feb

Q&As

A spouse has a large armed forces pension which is already subject to a pension attachment order in favour of their first spouse. As this prevents their second spouse from applying for a pension sharing order against that pension, can the second spouse apply for a pension attachment order in respect of the pension?

On an application for financial remedies, the court has the power to divide up the assets of parties to a marriage. This can include pension assets....

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

What is the procedure to withdraw a divorce petition that has already been served on the respondent? Will the respondent be notified of any application to withdraw the petition and what does the court take into account in deciding whether the petition should be dismissed?

Family Procedure Rules (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, 7.9 provides that an application for a matrimonial order may be withdrawn at any time before it has...

13th Feb

Q&As

A child’s mother has died and their adult sister is caring for them. The child's father is not named on the birth certificate and does not have parental responsibility. Would it be more appropriate to apply for guardianship or special guardianship, so that the sister may obtain parental responsibility? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each, and is there any real difference?

The court may appoint an individual to become a child’s guardian in one of three circumstances including if the child has no parent with parental...

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

Q&As

What is the procedure to apply to dismiss a petition for divorce?

An application for a matrimonial order may be withdrawn at any time before it has been served by giving notice in writing to the court where the...

13th Feb

Q&As

What remedies are available to cohabitants or former cohabitants where they are not able to agree the ownership of personal belongings (chattels) including those of a child?

Personal belongings are viewed as chattels by the courts. Ideally, the division of chattels should be agreed by way of a schedule denoting the...

13th Feb

Q&As

In proceedings under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA 1996), does equitable accounting only apply to the period after cohabiting parties have separated, or can the court consider the whole period they lived together at the property? Where a couple jointly own a property, but one party has paid all repayments in relation to a registered loan during their relationship, can that person argue under TOLATA 1996 that they should have an enhanced share of the sale proceeds?

‘Equitable accounting’ is a process whereby an adjustment is made in the ultimate division of the proceeds of sale of a property, following the...

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

Q&As

Where an application has been made to extend the term of a non-molestation order, and a hearing listed, can the extension be agreed by consent? If so, what evidence will the court require in order to approve the order?

A non-molestation order is a protective order made by the family court that prevents a party from molesting another person with whom they are...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

Can a divorce petition be served outside the jurisdiction of England and Wales?

The rules governing service in family proceedings are contained in Part 6 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955 and the...

13th Feb

Q&As

Where a financial consent order provides for child maintenance to the end of university education, when the child is aged 18 or 19, can either party still seek a maintenance calculation from the child maintenance service on the expiry of one year after the making of the consent order?

The courts have only limited jurisdiction in relation to child maintenance orders, the primary jurisdiction lying with the child maintenance service...

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

Q&As

Can a party apply for an interim lump sum order to be made in advance of a final hearing where the solvency of their business is a concern and the business is likely to fail if an order is not made prior to the final hearing?

The starting point is section 23 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973), which gives the court jurisdiction to make lump sum orders and...

Produced in partnership with Marissa Allman of The 36 Group 13th Feb

Q&As

Where a party to divorce proceedings changes their name, and a financial consent order has been prepared detailing the parties’ original names as in the divorce suit, what is the procedure required to reflect the party’s new name in the consent order?

A party to proceedings, like any other adult, is entitled to change their name at any time, whether before or after a financial consent order is made...

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

Q&As

At what stage should a respondent who objects to paying the costs of divorce proceedings attend court to oppose an order for costs?

On an uncontested application for a matrimonial order, the applicant may apply for their costs. Respondents may not wish to challenge the application...

13th Feb

Q&As

Can a respondent be served with a divorce petition while in prison and can an application be made for deemed service?

Once an application for a matrimonial order has been issued by the court (for example, an application for a decree of divorce), a copy of the...

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

Q&As

Can a civil partner register home rights against the former family home owned by the other civil partner and in relation to which there is a restriction in the proprietorship register referring to a discretionary trust (which names the civil partners and two other people)?

Where one spouse or civil partner (A) is entitled to occupy a dwelling-house, whether because they own it or have a tenancy, and the other spouse or...

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

Q&As

Where one party is permanently in a care home, and assets are being dissipated by care home fees, would this be a reason for the court to diverge from equality?

The starting point in financial cases is the checklist set out in section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973). The court must have regard...

13th Feb

Q&As