Family Law

Even someone who takes only a passing interest in the news must have heard about the latest multi-million pound lottery winners. Dave and Angela Dawes of Wisbech have won just over £101 million in the Euromillion lottery, having only played on two previous occasions.

They are clearly overwhelmed by their good fortune and have publicly announced that they intend to make generous gifts to people who have helped them during the course of their lives and this will undoubtedly include family members.

Midlands based solicitor and partner at law firm Sydney Mitchell LLP has been short-listed for Legal Personality of the Year at the Law Society's Exellence Awards.　

Dean Parnell is one of five candidates short-listed for this prestigious award which is based upon individuals who have provided an outstanding contribution to the legal profession. 　

I am delighted to have been short-listed for this award and it is great to have recognition for the work I have done over the last 12 months,
responded Dean

In general, on the dissolution of a marriage, any assets brought into the marriage will not be subject to the ‘equal division’ principle that normally applies to assets created during the marriage. The achievement of a different division must normally be founded on compelling reasoning.
Says Mauro Vinti of Sydney Mitchell Solicitors

 

A divorced man has won the right to retain £1 million of his pre-marital assets before a 50/50 division of the remainder of the couple’s joint assets is made. The assets were valued at around £9.5 million, after provision had been made for the children’s future education costs.

The Court of Appeal has reversed an earlier decision of the High Court that the ex-wife of a wealthy man could use documents downloaded from his computer without his permission to substantiate her claim for ancillary relief (the financial settlement on divorce).

When an agreement is made on separation or divorce for school fees to be paid by a parent, should the payment of the fees be taken into account by the Child Support Agency (CSA) when calculating that person’s child support liability?

When a couple divorce and financial arrangements have to be sorted out, there are occasions when the court may decide that assets not owned by the divorcing couple should be taken into account.

Going abroad on holiday or to live is becoming a common occurrence for many children. Parents may be offered positions abroad, either for a specific time or with endless possibilities of a permanent move. Likewise, Grandparents may have chosen to move to a warm climate with a more relaxed way of life and promises of frequent long holidays for their family.

Although these changes can be viewed with a mixture of excitement and fear, if both parents agree, then their children can explore new vistas. 

Divorce is almost never easy and the financial negotiations can be protracted and difficult, particularly when there are business interests involved. In this article we consider some of the issues surrounding divorce for company directors. In the first section, we deal with directors who are, effectively, senior employees of the companies of which they are directors. We refer to them as ‘employee directors’.

Around 14 million people in the UK regularly use social networking sites. It seems an innocent enough past time and a way of keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances, near and far. However, a recent survey of divorce petitions found that 1 in 5 contained references to Facebook or similar sites.

So whilst such sites help you stay connected with your friends they also offer the temptation to search for old flames or that special person you once had a crush on. What potentially starts off as a bit of harmless fun and intrigue can soon turn in to something more serious.

We all have choices in life. We choose whether to marry or live with another person. We choose where to live even if there are constraints placed upon us as to what we can afford. We choose to make compromises in our relationships, in our décor style and as to what our money is spent upon. We choose our children’s names and all our lives have an impact upon those children who like a sponge absorb all that they see, hear and are encouraged to do. There are however times in our lives when some choices are taken from us, such as death, illness, redundancy and divorce.

A recent, bitterly contested ‘big money’ divorce case shows how reluctant the courts are to upset financial settlements on the basis of contingencies and reinforces the point that bad behaviour is not a basis for changing the division of the assets.

It involved, as do so many high profile cases, a man who was successful in the City and his wife. The couple had lived together for five years before they married in 2003, but the marriage broke down in 2005. The couple had one child.

The recent case in which the Court of Appeal ruled that a German heiress was able to rely on a pre-nuptial agreement made with her husband was widely reported as meaning that the traditional view of the courts, that ‘pre-nups’ are little more than persuasive, was shattered.

However, the circumstances of that case were somewhat unusual and the comments of LJ Thorpe, the judge who issued the leading opinion, make interesting reading.

A Court of Appeal decision over a divorced couple's pre-nuptial agreement could pave the way for such agreements to become legally binding in England and Wales.

In a case heard before the Court of Appeal in April 2009 involving Katrin Radmacher, a German heiress, the Court of Appeal has overturned an earlier court decision to award her ex-husband £5.8m of her £100m fortune despite their pre nuptial agreement.

A case currently being heard in the Court of Appeal could affect the financial arrangements of many divorced couples.

Financial settlements on divorce normally involve making financial provision for any children but, in a recent case, the ex-wife of a wealthy man successfully argued that her love of horses was sufficiently important to her that substantial maintenance should be payable for their upkeep.