Latest News within Divorce

Over the last few years, there have been a spattering of cases in the media where separating couples have disclosed that they have spent thousands of pounds arguing over who should get the dog.

We know that the speed and convenience of online divorce is appealing. Adam Kidd, from our family law team in Chesterfield, explains when it is appropriate and when it is not.

It has recently been announced that couples in England and Wales will eventually be able to file for a ‘no fault’ divorce, meaning that couples who simply grow apart, no longer have to find ‘blame’ to bring the marriage to an end.

It is thought that this reform in divorce law will help to reduce family conflict and, in some cases, could speed up divorce proceedings. With these changes, alongside the introduction of the Ministry of Justice online divorce platform it is thought that divorce will become much quicker and easier for many couples in the future.

Cohabitation is the name given to unmarried couples living together. Whether you have previously been married, or are living with your first ‘partner’, you are called cohabitees. But what does this actually mean in practice, and what are your legal rights if anything were to happen to the relationship, or to either of you?

Couples wishing to divorce will soon benefit from a less confrontational process, under proposals announced by the Justice Secretary David Gauke.

Just how binding are Pre-nuptial Agreements in the British Courts? Well a recent ruling of the High Court on a French ‘pre-nuptial agreement’ pretty much spells it out.

A fully online divorce application process is being tested across England and Wales for the first time.

Long gone are the days of hiring a private investigator to prove a cheating spouse. Nowadays evidence of a partner's infidelity might be found online.

We know that going through a divorce or separation can be stressful at the best of times, but over the festive season emotions can run very high, especially when there are children involved.

In a recent ruling, in June of this year, the courts followed an increasing trend for financial settlements of divorcing couples to reflect more accurately the contributions that each partner made to the marriage.

During a break up, being fair and civilised to each other is often the best you can hope for, but when there are children involved emotions need to be set aside.

Planning ahead is important for most family holidays, but if you are looking to take your children abroad and you have separated or divorced, then the sooner you prepare this, the better.

Vulnerable victims and witnesses will no longer have to appear in court under new plans to roll out pre-trial evidence sessions.

An error was recently identified in the automatic calculations used in the version of the Divorce Form E (Financial Statement) available on the HM Courts and Tribunals Form Finder website.

Some of our clients may have seen a BBC article headed Divorce form error 'could have led to unfair settlements', published on 18 December 2015.