About Family Law
In family law, half the battle is keeping on top of the latest case law, legislation, precedents and forms. Lexis+ Family brings everything together for you online, in one place. So you can get up to speed faster, with more time to spend on your clients.
Financial provision
Comprehensive coverage of all aspects of financial provision, from underlying principles considered by the court to applications under specific legislation. Not forgetting in-depth practical guidance on specialist areas.
Private children
Get stuck into all areas of private children law, from fundamental principles to evidence and procedure. Plus subtopics to make sure practitioners have the relevant practical guidance at their fingertips.
International law
Families are increasingly international, so practitioners need quick access to relevant practical guidance. We'll provide the information you need to advise your clients on the best jurisdiction.
Lexis+® Family
In family law, half the battle is keeping on top of the latest case law, legislation, precedents and forms. Lexis+® Family brings everything together for you online, in one place.
Latest Family News
This week's edition of the Family weekly highlights includes analyses of cross-border child maintenance after Brexit, together with the power of the...
The Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos, delivered a speech on 4 February 2026 examining how artificial intelligence (AI) could enable civil and...
Family analysis: This case analysis examines how the Family Court approached jurisdiction and case management in a long-running cross-border child...
Private Client analysis: Mr Justice Williams found that AB lacked capacity and it was in his best interests to be conveyed to hospital for an...
This week's edition of the Family weekly highlights includes details of the recently published joint report by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission and...
Latest Family Practice Notes
Transparency in the family courts—communicating information from children proceedingsThis Practice Note considers when information can be communicated...
Joinder of third parties in financial proceedingsThis Practice Note sets out the procedure to add a third party to financial proceedings as specified...
Rights on death of cohabitantCohabitants do not generally share the same rights afforded to a spouse or civil partner in the event of the death of...
How to complete financial statement in Form EThis Practice Note provides a ‘How to’ guide to completing Form E (Financial statement) for a financial...
Citation of authorities in the family courtsThis Practice Note sets out the practice and procedure governing the citation of authorities in the family...
Latest Family Precedents
Letter of instruction to a single joint expert to value a vintage or classic car or motorcycle collection (including parts and...
Retained EU law—training materials [Archived]ARCHIVED: This Precedent has been archived and is not maintained.These training materials consist of...
Letter of instruction to a single joint expert to value chattels, jewellery or antiques1IntroductionThis letter is written as a joint instruction to...
Notice to show cause applications—client guideThis document provides general guidance regarding notice to show cause applications in family...
Divorce (same–sex marriage)—client guide (post-DDSA 2020)This document provides general guidance regarding divorce procedure. Your family lawyer will...
Latest Family Q&As
Featured Family content
Procedure—Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989
Procedure—Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989This Practice Note sets out the procedural requirements in relation to an application under Schedule 1 to...
Applications under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997
Applications under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997This Practice Note explains the six criminal offences that may be committed under the...
Striking out a statement of case
Striking out a statement of caseThis Practice Note explains the court's power to strike out a statement of case. It summarises the grounds on which a...
The grounds on which a marriage is void
The grounds on which a marriage is voidA void marriage is one that will be treated by the court as never having taken place. The grounds on which a...
Sequestration (confiscation of assets) within contempt proceedings
Sequestration (confiscation of assets) within contempt proceedingsSequestration is a process for dealing with a contempt of court that would be...
Application to vary, extend or discharge a non-molestation or occupation order
Application to vary, extend or discharge a non-molestation or occupation orderUnder the Family Law Act 1996 (FLA 1996) a non-molestation order is an...
Notice to show cause applications in family proceedings
Notice to show cause applications in family proceedingsIf one party considers that an agreement has been reached (usually in relation to financial...
What is the procedure to withdraw an application made on Form C100?
Pre-nuptial agreements—client guide
Pre-nuptial agreements—client guideThis document provides general guidance regarding pre-nuptial agreements. Your family lawyer will be able to...
Steps to take after a client meeting
Steps to take after a client meetingFile noteA file note (also known as an attendance note) should be prepared immediately after the first interview,...
Is a divorce petition a public document and can anyone request a copy? If not, is there anything to prevent a party to a divorce from giving copies of the petition to a third party such as an employer?
Declarations of parentage—procedure
Declarations of parentage—procedureThe procedure for an application for a declaration of parentage is governed by the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR...
Working with counsel
Working with counselInstructing counsel to advocate on a client’s behalf should be a matter of careful thought and preparation. The role of counsel is...
Non-molestation orders
Non-molestation ordersUnder the Family Law Act 1996 (FLA 1996) a non-molestation order is an order prohibiting a person (the respondent) from...
Reports under section 37 of the Children Act 1989
Reports under section 37 of the Children Act 1989Under section 37 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989), the court has the power to order an...
‘Associated persons’ as defined in section 62(3) of Family Law Act 1996 includes people who have, or have had, an intimate personal relationship with each other which is or was of significant duration. How is ‘significant duration’ defined and how long is considered significant?
Financial clean break orders in family proceedings
Financial clean break orders in family proceedingsDuty of the court to consider a clean breakAlthough there is no presumption in favour of there being...
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?
Associated legal terms
Civil partnership
The legal relationship between two people of the same sex affording them broadly the same rights available to heterosexual couples who choose to marry.
Civil partnership certificate
Legal document evidencing the civil partnership of two people of the same sex.
Global or ‘Segal’ orders
A global or ‘Segal’ order is an order for spousal periodical payments where credit is required to be given for any sums payable under a statutory child support calculation. The court makes an order in a global amount of spousal periodical payments, to be reduced pro tanto in the event of a maintenance calculation by the Child Maintenance Service. Such orders may be made by the court where the parties have not agreed what the child maintenance should be (and therefore cannot enter into a written agreement and have that agreement converted into a consent order) but the court does not have jurisdiction to make an order for periodical payments for a child. The approach was approved by the Court of Appeal in Dorney-Kingdom v Dorney-Kingdom, when Thorpe LJ said that such an order is ‘just within the bounds of legitimacy, since it is no sort of ouster of or challenge to the jurisdiction of the Agency, but merely a holding until such time as the Agency can carry out its proper function. But it seems to me absolutely crucial that if legitimacy is to be preserved, there must be a substantial ingredient of spousal support in the Segal order’ (para [15]).
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