The Children and Families Bill received Royal Assent yesterday morning, on Thursday 13 March 2014, and is now law.
I have previously written in this blog about the impact of this Act on family law in England and Wales, and explored the introduction of the new child arrangement order on Children Act cases in this jurisdiction.
Here’s a link
“Who has parental responsibility for this child?” is a question which often pops up on forms that you fill out for your child, whether at school or at the doctors. Courts are sometimes required to make a decision about this question too. The recent case of PM v MB* involved an 11 year old boy…
An appeal is a complex process, and is therefore relatively rare. The first step is to establish whether you need to obtain permission to launch an appeal. If your case was heard by lay magistrates, you do not need permission to appeal. Magistrates are volunteers, advised in court on legal points by a professional legal…
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the use of remote hearings for family law cases. This change has been embraced by courts in Milton Keynes and across England & Wales, transforming the way family law matters are dealt with. Remote hearings have brought numerous benefits but also some challenges. In this…
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 unable to agree on contact arrangements for the children of the family. This made me…
The usual approach in cases involving children is that each side pays their own legal costs. In a case heard by the High Court last month*, Mr Justice Peter Jackson was asked to decide whether a 15 year old and 13 year old boy should live with their mother or father. The children were living…
A Barring order under Section 91(14) of the Children Act 1989 is a powerful tool that allows family courts in England and Wales to protect children and their families from harm. It enables the court to issue a barring order, which prevents an individual from making further specified applications under the Children Act 1989 without…
