Relationship breakdown

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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

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...

9th Nov

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

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

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 Relationship breakdown content

Q&As

Can a terminally-ill respondent apply to the court to shorten the time between decree nisi and decree absolute where the time period for the petitioner to apply for the decree absolute has not yet expired?

Initially, the application for a decree nisi to be made absolute can only be made by the spouse who obtained the decree nisi. The general approach is...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

Where a divorce petition has been issued at a Divorce Centre, can both the application for decree nisi and the approval of a financial consent order be expedited where a party will otherwise be disadvantaged by the expiry of a mortgage offer?

The procedure for making an application for a decree nisi is set out in Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, Pt 7. Where the case is...

Produced in partnership with Tori Adams of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

What is the authority for the court to grant cross-decrees on divorce petitions and what is the procedure to apply for decree absolute where there are cross-decrees?

Cross-decreesThere is one ground for a divorce, and that is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. However, the court cannot make a finding...

Produced in partnership with Tori Adams of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

Is it possible to rely on two facts under section 1(2) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (adultery and unreasonable behaviour) to prove the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage?

At present the law of England and Wales requires fault for a marriage to be dissolved. Section 1 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973)...

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

Q&As

A couple entered into a civil partnership in England and Wales, and subsequently married in New York (prior to the coming into force of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. The marriage was not registered in England and Wales. They are now separating. Does the civil partnership need to be converted to a marriage for the parties to get divorced?

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (M(SSC)A 2013) provides that the marriage of same-sex couples is lawful. M(SSC)A 2013, s 9 provides that the...

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

Q&As

If a respondent in divorce proceedings has filed a cross-petition, will subsequently filing an acknowledgment of service to the divorce petition out of time denying the allegations affect the respondent’s cross-petition?

Case studyOne party to a marriage (A) without the knowledge of the other party (B) filed a petition containing serious allegation against B, who,...

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

Q&As

Is there case law authority where a respondent to an unreasonable behaviour petition allows the divorce to proceed on an undefended basis, that the petitioner cannot then within other proceedings, such as a financial remedy, refer to the fact that the petition was not defended and rely on the particulars in the petition?

A divorce petition needs to satisfy the court of one or more of the following facts in order for the court to hold that the marriage has broken down...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

Where the petition has been personally served on a respondent, but their address is unknown and they have not returned an acknowledgment of service, is the petitioner under an obligation to serve decree nisi and decree absolute on the respondent?

There are various ways in which a divorce petition may be served. In the first instance, petitions will usually be served by first class post along...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

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 8th Jan

Q&As

Where the respondent does not admit adultery, how may it be proved?

In order for a court to find that a marriage has irretrievably broken down, the court must be satisfied of one or more of the following facts,...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

Can you rely on without prejudice correspondence as evidence of service of a divorce petition?

A divorce petition may be served by way of personal service in accordance with Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, 6.7, or by...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

A respondent in divorce proceedings has filed a confidential address form. Must the petitioner's solicitors thereafter use that address for service (via the court) in relation to negotiations on financial issues? The petitioner's solicitors have obtained details of the respondent's whereabouts and actual address and residence via an enquiry agent. Are the petitioner's solicitors under a duty disclose to the respondent that they know the respondent’s address?

It is sometimes the case that a party in family proceedings will wish to keep their address confidential. This will often arise where there has been...

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

Q&As

A final decree of nullity has been granted in respect of a bigamous marriage where one party knew that they were already married and the other party did not. The party without knowledge of the bigamy has made an application for financial orders. In such circumstances, would the Rampal v Rampal (No 2) and Whiston v Whiston line of authorities preclude the respondent from benefiting as a result of the applicant's financial application?

Pursuant to section 11(b) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973), a marriage is void if at the time of the marriage either party was already...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

Where a respondent was married as a man but has subsequently changed gender to female, what gender should be entered for the respondent in the divorce petition? The court has rejected a petition where the respondent’s details were given as female.

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA 2004) enables a person who has changed their gender to apply for a gender recognition certificate (GRC). If a GRC...

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

Q&As

When notifying the court of the petitioner's intention to withdraw a judicial separation petition which has not been served on the respondent, what must be filed with the court apart from the notice of withdrawal?

Judicial separation is an alternative form of separation to a divorce, whereby parties will be formally separated as sanctioned by the court, but they...

Produced in partnership with Tori Adams of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

If a respondent’s home address and place of work are unknown to the petitioner, is it possible for the respondent to be personally served when they attend a court appointment in relation to separate court proceedings?

It is assumed that this Q&A is asking about personal service of a divorce petition, given the reference to the ‘petitioner’. In the first instance, a...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

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...

6th Jan

Practice notes

The Courts and Tribunals Service Centre and divorce centres

This Practice Note sets out the current practice regarding the issue of divorce petitions, the phasing out of the regional divorce centres and the...

5th Jan

COVID-19

Practice notes

Standard orders—immigration

IP COMPLETION DAY: 11pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 marks the end of the Brexit transition/implementation period entered into following the UK’s...

5th Jan

Precedents

Letter to unrepresented respondent serving divorce petition and accompanying documents

Dear [insert respondent’s name]Your [wife OR husband]’s divorce petition asking that your marriage be brought to an end has now been processed by the...

4th Jan