I was contacted this week and asked to write about a specific problem which has arisen in the life of a reader’s family member, who has suffered a relationship breakdown, and is unmarried, not on the house deeds and is…
What happens if you cannot agree on the value of your car, jewellery or other possessions on divorce?
The difficulty of agreeing on the values of smaller items in a divorce can present a barrier to settlement. However, we have been reminded recently that proportionality is the “name of the game”*. To resolve a financial dispute there needs…
Do you cohabit and own a house? Have you thought about what your rights are? Best check..
Are you cohabiting? If so, you are amongst the 15% of both men and women in this country aged 16 to 59 who are currently cohabiting. Whilst some of these couples will not buy property, many of them will, and…
How to fast track your divorce, Milton Keynes style
I am always surprised by the extent to which Milton Keynes* is dismissed as a concrete cow wasteland. It is, admittedly, a bit different to anywhere else in the UK . One of the initiatives that is taking place in…
A judge orders you to pay 45% of your salary in maintenance: what now?
The recent case of T v M* demonstrates that the answer to this question is not “wait four months and then ask the judge to change his order”. In T v M, the final hearing of the financial case was…
Facebook and family law
Social media certainly has the capacity to get people into legal difficulties. The High Court found last week that a tweet posted by Sally Bercow was libellous, and as a result, she is going to be paying out damages for…
The dangers of divorce for the self employed
A recent case has highlighted the dangers of divorce for the self employed. If you are a PAYE employee, your annual salary is set out in your P60 and payslips. If you are self-employed, your income is likely to be…
Same sex marriage, opposite sex marriage, civil partnerships for all? These labels matter.
I heard an excellent interview on Monday night on the radio during the recent debate in the House of Commons about the Marriage (Same Sex) Couples Bill. The excited presenter was crossing between the House of Commons, to find out…
What or who is FDR?
An FDR is a Financial Dispute Resolution hearing, a meeting held at court for the purposes of negotiation and discussion. It is the second of three court appointments in a financial remedy claim on divorce, in which the couple in…
Is it time to renew that pre-nup?
Last month I was invited to talk to a national law firm’s Wealth Preservation team about pre-nups. To talk about pre-nups, you conversely need to start by talking about what happens if there is no pre-nup. What is the default…