Pursuant to section 55A of the Family Law Act 1986 (FLA 1986), an application may be made to the Family Court or to the High Court for a declaration as to whether or not a person named in the application is or was the parent of another person. The jurisdiction of the court is dependent on domicile or habitual residence in England and Wales, as set out in FLA 1986, s 55A(2). Where an application is successful, and a declaration of parentage is made, the court shall notify the

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 responsibility for them (eg where the child's unmarried mother has died and the father does not have parental responsibility) or no special guardian (section 5 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989)). A person who is a child’s guardian pursuant to ChA 1989, s 5 acquires parental responsibility for the child. Parental responsibility is defined as all the rights, duties, powers, responsibility and authority that, by law, a parent has in relation to their child and their child's property. Any appointment of a guardian may be brought to an end at

Private Client analysis: Who is to be treated as a child for the purpose of construing how an offshore trust or will is supposed to operate? This is a deceptively simple question-surely we all know what a child is? Written by James Sheedy and Joanne Seal (TEP), partners of Collas Crill.

Firstly, it would be advisable to scrutinise the governing document or objects of the specific church charity or the denomination of the Church. It may be that this will show the basis upon which the decision is or was made. For instance, it is not unusual for church property to be held for the purpose of supplying living accommodation to members of needy (Church of England) clergy and/or their families. Every charity

An order made under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (I(PFD)A 1975) attracts similar treatment under section 146 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984) as an instrument of variation does under IHTA 1984, s 142. Neither needs to be made by

The amendment of a statement of case before it has been served is governed by CPR 17.1. However, any amendment made without the court’s permission can be set aside, under CPR 17.2; and it will be set aside in circumstances where, if the court’s permission had been sought, it would not have been granted. The court has power, after the expiry of the limitation period, under CPR 17.4 to: • add or substitute a new claim, but only if the new claim arises out of the same facts or substantially the same facts as a claim in respect of which the party applying for permission has already claimed a remedy in the proceedings, or • correct a mistake as to the name of a party, but only where the mistake was genuine and not one which would cause reasonable doubt as to the identity of the

Additional court fee For information on the fee that is payable when starting a claim, see the Civil Proceedings Fees Order, SI 2008/1053 (as amended) and Practice Note: Court fees in civil proceedings. If an incorrect court fee is paid, and this is brought to the attention of the court, the court may stay the claim until the appropriate fee is paid—as happened in Lifestyles Equities C.V. v Sportsdirect.com Retail Ltd. If it is apparent that an incorrect fee has been paid for the value of the claim, it is therefore advisable to amend the claim and pay the correct fee. The notes to Fees 1.1 and 1.5 of SI 2008/1053 (as amended) state that: ‘Where the claim or counterclaim is amended, and the fee paid before amendment is less than that which would have been payable if the document, as amended,

This Q&A assumes that the proposed defendant is in England or Wales. The claim form, once completed, will need to be filed with the court you have decided to issue proceedings in together with a request that the court issues the claim form. The court will then normally issue the claim form on the day it is received. Proceedings are started when the court issues a claim form at the request

It is crucial to note from the outset that the position relating to a waiver of claims differs depending on whether a settlement is effected by way of a COT3 agreement (Form COT3), under the auspices of Acas, or whether it is an agreement made pursuant to section 203 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), endorsed by advice from an independent legal adviser. Where there is a settlement agreement pursuant to ERA 1996, s 203, then the position is clear and straightforward. Whatever its express terms, the agreement would not be effective in prohibiting a claimant from bringing a future victimisation claim arising from the fact that they had brought the

How to request a judgment for an unspecified amount A request for judgment where the amount claimed is unspecified should be made on Form N227. Obtaining a default judgment CPR 12.4(1) provides that a default judgment can be obtained by request where the claim is for an amount of money to be decided by the court. This does not require permission of the court. In such cases, CPR 12.5(3) provides that the default judgment will be for an amount to be decided by the court and costs. CPR 12.7 sets out the procedure

Where an employer has failed to pay sums owed under the contract of employment, consideration should generally be given to possible claims for unlawful deductions from wages and breach of contract. For information on the issues for a worker to consider when deciding whether to bring a claim for unlawful deductions from wages or breach of contract (or both), see the section: ‘Whether to bring an unlawful deductions claim or a breach of contract claim’ of Practice Note: Deductions from wages. Deductions from wages Generally, under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), an employer cannot make any deductions from the wages of a worker unless: • the deduction is required or authorised to be made by virtue of (a) a statutory provision, eg the requirement to make deductions for

Response to appeal The Employment Appeal Rules 1993 (the EAT Rules), SI 1993/2854, r 6(2) provides that: ‘A respondent who wishes to resist an appeal shall…deliver to the Appeal Tribunal an answer in writing in, or substantially in, accordance with Form 3 in the Schedule to these Rules, setting out the grounds on which he relies, so, however, that it shall be sufficient for a respondent to an appeal …who wishes to rely on any ground which is the same as a ground relied on by the [employment tribunal] for making the [judgment,] decision[, declaration] or order appealed from to state that fact in his answer.’ For more information, see Practice Note: Responding to an appeal. Rule 6(5) of the EAT Rules provides that: ‘Where the respondent does not wish to resist an