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Posted on November 20, 2018
Family and Childcare Law

Our divorce team frequently get asked, ‘can I defend a divorce?’. While the simple answer to this is that a divorce petition can be defended, the reality is that defended divorce is rare. What are divorce proceedings? Divorce proceedings are initiated when one spouse submits a divorce petition. As the law currently stands (November 2018) you must show that a marriage has irretrievably broken down in order to gain a divorce. The reasons for the breakdown are given in the divorce petition....

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Posted on February 12, 2018
Family and Childcare Law

Can I apply to reduce or terminate a Spousal Maintenance Order? Historically Courts have been fond of making what are known as ‘joint lives’ Spousal Maintenance Orders when couples divorce. A joint lives Order is where the Court  orders spousal maintenance to be paid until the death of either spouse, or until the receiving spouse remarries. Spouses and ex-spouses who are required to make payments under these orders often feel aggrieved, especially where the receiving spouse treats  it as a meal ticket...

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Posted on December 4, 2017
Family and Childcare Law, Inheritance Disputes

'What do you mean, my marriage isn’t valid?' A report entitled “Equal and Free? 50 Muslim Women of Marriage in Britain Today” provides a number of examples of women who married their spouse under a Nikah (Islamic “marriage”) ceremony. Legal complications can arise because Nikah ceremonies are often not considered to be a valid marriage ceremony under English law. If a Nikah marriage is not recognised under English law, then the rights offered to a husband and wife under the jurisdiction of our legal system should...

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Posted on August 29, 2017
Family and Childcare Law

May pledges to protect victims of domestic violence and abuse In the 2017 Queens's Speech Mrs May’s Conservative Government included a commitment to introduce legislation to offer protection to the victims of domestic violence and abuse.  Provisions in the new Bill will include the creation of a Domestic Violence and Abuse Commissioner and establishing a consolidated new domestic abuse civil prevention and protection order regime.   The Government also pledged its commitment to enabling the courts to impose sentences in child abuse cases...

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Posted on August 29, 2017
Family and Childcare Law

We look at a recent Court of Appeal case which considered how a couple’s assets should be shared where the marriage has been a short one, the husband and wife both have careers and there are no children. Are these circumstances where a court should depart from the usual principle of equal sharing?   In the case of Sharp v Sharp the couple’s relationship had lasted 6 years, including a period of pre-marriage cohabitation. They had no children. They both worked full time, each...

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Posted on August 29, 2017
Family and Childcare Law

With offices located throughout Devon and Somerset our team of family law solicitors are able to provide a comprehensive local service to anyone experiencing a divorce or relationship breakdown in the South West and beyond In addition to divorce and separation we also deal with disputes over children, prenuptial agreements and change of name deeds. We pride ourselves on offering straight-forward, cost-effective legal advice. We appreciate that dealing with the legal fall-out from a relationship breakdown can be extremely stressful.  We will be the...

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Posted on September 20, 2016
Family and Childcare Law

A recent consumer panel has suggested that family lawyers should be forced, by regulation, to offer all their services for a fixed fee. The argument runs that if dentists have to display a price list showing what their treatment costs are, then why shouldn’t family solicitors do the very same thing? But of course that argument misses the point. If you go to your dentist for a filling or a crown you can look at a price list and see what...

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Posted on June 28, 2016
Family and Childcare Law

When people separate or divorce, they often mention that their ex has wealthy relatives from whom they can expect to inherit. It’s commonly assumed this should be brought into the mix and available for division just like any other asset on divorce. There’s even more of an issue when one party has already inherited assets during the marriage and wants to disentangle them from matrimonial funds. Divorce and anticipated inheritance As the law currently stands, there’s no requirement on a parent to...

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Posted on March 24, 2016
Family and Childcare Law

A cautionary tale for those thinking of using online divorce services. Whilst these may well on the face of it seem like a cost effective way of dissolving your marriage, you could end up with a great deal more than you bargained for. Recently, a Welsh gentleman pleaded guilty to bigamy following his second marriage. He had apparently used an online divorce service for which he’d paid £600 in fees and believed that he was divorced. His second wedding certainly wasn’t...

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Posted on March 21, 2016
Family and Childcare Law

As divorce law solicitors we’re well accustomed to hearing a wide range of arguments on why financial claims made following divorce are unfair or unreasonable, but a recent case took a particularly inventive approach. A Saudi Arabian billionaire had divorced his wife of 13 years via the Islamic practice of Talaq, which permits men to end their marriages simply by saying “I divorce you”, three times. His ex-wife then made an application to the High Court in England seeking a share of his fortune...

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