Effect of relationship breakdown

When a marriage or civil partnership breaks down, the significant date for income tax purposes is the year in which the parties permanently separate and not the year of divorce or dissolution if later. Where a person earning over a specified amount pays the high-income child benefit tax charge because their spouse, civil partner or cohabitant earns less than this limit and claims child benefit, the charge does not apply after the couple separate. Couples who save tax by transferring a percentage of their personal allowance between them can withdraw the election with effect

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Latest Family News

Family weekly highlights—19 March 2026

This week's edition of the Family weekly highlights includes details of the new Child Focused Courts (previously known as Private Law Pathfinder) and minutes from the latest Family Procedure Rules Committee meeting. Analysis of the new Financial Remedies Guide issued by Mr Justice Peel and HHJ Hess with the approval of the President of the Family Division on 13 March 2026 consolidating existing guidance and efficiency statements is set out. Recent judgments on determining the validity of foreign marriages, an appeal against a costs order made in private law proceedings and non-matrimonial property in financial proceedings are also considered.

Child Focused Courts rolled out across England and Wales

The Ministry of Justice has announced the national rollout of Child Focused Courts across England and Wales, following a pilot programme that reduced Family Court case timelines by an average of seven and a half months. The Child Focused Courts (previously known as Private Law Pathfinder) have been piloted since February 2022 in Family Courts across North Wales and Dorset, and currently operate in 10 of 43 court areas, including all of Wales, West Yorkshire, Birmingham and the West Midlands, as well as Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The model is intended for all court users, with a particular emphasis on the voice of the child and improving the family court experience and outcomes for survivors of domestic abuse, including children and litigants in person. The child focused model will be expanded with £17 million in government funding for the next financial year.

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Family analysis: The Financial Remedies Guide (FRG) was issued by Mr Justice Peel and HHJ Hess with the approval of the President of the Family Division on 13 March 2026. This News Analysis considers its significance for financial remedy practitioners and highlights the practical points they are most likely to need immediately. The FRG is best understood as a single source of essential practice guidance rather than a wholesale change of direction because it brings together and supersedes a range of earlier guidance documents and notices, while updating them to reflect the present rules, practice directions and developments in online procedure.

Family weekly highlights—12 March 2026

This week's edition of the Family weekly highlights includes analysis of the implications of the decision of Mazur in the family courts, details of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory briefing on AI in the family justice system and a new feature on the Financial Remedy Service portal enabling solicitors to remove themselves from financial remedy cases. Details of the reforms proposed under the new Courts and Tribunals Bill to better protect children are set out. Recent judgments on an application to set aside a decree absolute and financial consent order, an appeal against a child arrangements order and allegations of professional negligence in relation to a financial settlement are also considered. A new flowchart has been added on court bundles in family proceedings.