My posts this week on the Stowe Family Law Blog

My posts this week on the Stowe Family Law Blog included:

Latest divorce statistics may not be as significant as they appear - The reason for the drop may be a little more prosaic than some might think.

Can divorce really be ‘contagious’? - I seek to answer that question.

President gives overview of domestic abuse allegations in family proceedings - A look at his recent speech to a conference held by the Support Through Court charity.

Father did not acquiesce in mother’s retention of children in the UK - The recent case KJC v GRC (Hague Convention).

Have a good weekend.

Internet Newsletter for Lawyers November/December 2019

The latest issue of the Internet Newsletter for Lawyers is now published.

In this issue:

• Websites – Eduardo Ustaran of Hogan Lovells explains how to get cookie consent right, compliant and applying best practice
• Online courts – Nick Holmes reviews Richard Susskind's Online Courts and the Future of Justice
• Websites – Susan Hallam of Hallam Internet explains the optimum way to publish images on your website
• Deepfakes – Kelsey Farish of DAC Beachcroft explains what deepfakes are and how the landscape has developed
• Data misuse – Alex Heshmaty of Legal Words on how the misuse of data legitimately acquired is being tackled
• Artificial intelligence – Katharine Stephens of Bird & Bird answers the question who owns an AI-generated invention?
• Access to justice – Nick Holmes looks at the various providers of access to justice through technology

Download the PDF issue | Access the Newsletter online.

Image is the European Commission’s cookie consent dialogue on Europa; see https://ec.europa.eu/info/cookies_en.

News Essentials: 2nd December 2019

A brief summary of the essential family law news and cases from the last week:

NEWS
Criticism deterring medical specialists from being expert witnesses
Criticism from lawyers, judges and the press may be deterring health professionals from being expert witnesses in family cases, a working group looking into a chronic shortage has said. Full story: Law Society Gazette.

Divorce rate falls for heterosexual couples in England and Wales
Applications backlog partly blamed for drop to lowest level in 50 years, while same-sex couple figure rises. Full story: The Guardian.

LiP support unit shuts branches
The president of the Family Division has called on lawyers to help fund a support scheme for litigants in person. Full story: Law Society Gazette.

Almost 2.5 million in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse in last year
ONS publishes statistics on domestic abuse in England and Wales for year ending March 2019. Full story: Family Law Week.

CASES
Orphans From Syria, Re [2019] EWHC 3202 (Fam) (22 November 2019)
Wardship proceedings concerning British children who were in Syria and who are orphans. Full report: Bailii.

Akhmedova v Akhmedov [2019] EWHC 3140 (Fam) (22 November 2019)
Application by wife in respect of certain documents which had been, or may have been, illegitimately obtained. Full report: Bailii.

A Local Authority v M & F & Ors [2019] EWHC 1447 (Fam) (07 June 2019)
Care proceedings. Rehearing of fact-finding investigating the cause of death of a ten-year-old girl. Full report: Bailii.

F v M (Appeal: Finding of Fact) [2019] EWHC 3177 (Fam) (21 November 2019)
Appeal by father against finding of fact in child arrangements proceedings. Appeal dismissed. Full report: Bailii.

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For more news, see here.

For more cases, see here.

To subscribe to the Family Lore Focus free weekly Newsletter (which includes links to all of the week's top family law news stories, cases, articles and blog posts), go here.

New by me this week on the Stowe Family Law Blog

My posts this week on the Stowe Family Law Blog included:

More details published about new Financial Remedies Courts - As the title says.

Transgender man’s marriage invalid - The recent High Court case P (Transgender Applicant for Declaration of Valid Marriage).

Suspended residence order used to tackle parental alienation - In the case R (Parental alienation and suspended transfer of residence).

Lady Hale looks at the achievements and disappointments of the Children Act project - In her Scarman lecture.

Have a good weekend.

News Essentials: 25th November 2019

A brief summary of the essential family law news and cases from the last week:

NEWS
Financial Remedies Courts: Structure document and Good Practice Protocol published
An Overall Structure of the Financial Remedies Courts and the Role and Function of the Lead Judge has been published for the Financial Remedies Courts. Full story: Family Law Week.

Marriage between woman and trans man is void
Gender Recognition Certificate had not been obtained at date of ceremony. Full story: Family Law Week. See P (Transgender Applicant for Declaration of Valid Marriage), below.

Research on the effect of the PLO and Re B-S on care proceedings published
Child protection in Court: Outcomes for Children reports the findings of research by the Universities of Bristol and East Anglia on reforms to care proceedings in 2013-14, and their impact on children. Full story: Family Law Week.

Press attacks on family courts should be assessed - McFarlane
The president of the family division has called for independent research to be carried out on cases reported by the press to see if courts are making mistakes and failing to protect victims and children. Full story: Law Society Gazette.

CASES
B (Secure Accommodation Order) [2019] EWCA Civ 2025 (21 November 2019)
Appeal by local authority against an order refusing the authority's application for a secure accommodation order in respect of a 15-year-old girl. Full report: Bailii.

P (Transgender Applicant for Declaration of Valid Marriage) [2019] EWHC 3105 (Fam) (20 November 2019)
Application for declaration that marriage conducted in 2009 was valid, where applicant had undergone gender re-assignment surgery, but had not obtained a Gender Recognition Certificate. Full report: Bailii.

W (A Child), Re [2019] EWCA Civ 1966 (18 November 2019)
Appeal by great-aunt against care and placement orders made in relation to two year old boy. Appeal allowed. Full report: Bailii.

C (A Child) (Interim Separation), Re [2019] EWCA Civ 1998 (18 November 2019)
Appeal by mother against interim care order separating four month old child from mother. Appeal allowed. Full report: Bailii.

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For more news, see here.

For more cases, see here.

To subscribe to the Family Lore Focus free weekly Newsletter (which includes links to all of the week's top family law news stories, cases, articles and blog posts), go here.

My posts this week on the Stowe Family Law Blog

My posts this week on the Stowe Family Law Blog included:

Lack of evidence defeats claim against fiancés estate - A case that confirms once again that evidence is king.

Father appeals child arrangements order made to permit mother to take child on holiday - In the case X v Y (Child Arrangements Order).

Redundancy payment not income for purpose of child support - As (eventually) decided in the case BB v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and CB (CSM) (Child support – calculation of income).

Judge unfairly dismissed grandfather’s application for child arrangements order - The case G v M (FHDRA Appeal).

Have a good weekend.

News Essentials: 18th November 2019

A brief summary of the essential family law news and cases from the last week:

NEWS
Judge allows inter-country adoption to proceed despite failure to comply with pre-adoption requirements
An application for an inter-country adoption should not fail because of inconsequential errors made by the intending adopter, a High Court Family Division judge has ruled. Full story: Local Government Lawyer.

Practice Guidance: Placements in unregistered children’s homes in England or unregistered care home services in Wales
The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has issued a new practice guidance to explain the registration and regulation structure applicable in England and, separately, in Wales for residential care facilities for children and young people. Full story: Family Law Week.

CASES
X v Y (Child Arrangements Order) [2019] EWHC 2872 (Fam) (14 August 2019)
Application by father for permission to appeal against interim child arrangements order. Permission granted. Full report: Bailii.

I-L (Children) (1996 Hague Child Protection Convention : Inherent Jurisdiction) [2019] EWCA Civ 1956 (15 November 2019)
Appeal by father against order made under inherent jurisdiction requiring the parties' two children to be returned to Russia. Full report: Bailii.

AY v AS [2019] EWHC 3043 (Fam) (14 November 2019)
Mother's application for permission to relocate child permanently to Kazakhstan. Full report: Bailii.

A (No. 2) (Children: Findings of Fact) [2019] EWCA Civ 1947 (14 November 2019)
Care proceedings. Appeal by parents against findings of fact. Appeal allowed, and matter remitted for rehearing. Full report: Bailii.

*      *      *

For more news, see here.

For more cases, see here.

To subscribe to the Family Lore Focus free weekly Newsletter (which includes links to all of the week's top family law news stories, cases, articles and blog posts), go here.

New by me this week on the Stowe Family Law Blog

My posts this week on the Stowe Family Law Blog included:

Finely balanced relocation case - The case being Re H (Children: Relocation).

The limit to ‘divorce tourism’ - Or, A Russian wife in Queen Elizabeth’s court.

Ex-husband is legal parent of children conceived following fertility treatment - The case PQ v RS and others (Legal Parenthood: Written consent).

The capacity to enter into marriage - As discussed in the Court of Protection case Mundell v Name 1.

Have a good weekend.

News Essentials: 11th November 2019

A brief summary of the essential family law news and cases from the last week:

NEWS
Russian billionaire succeeds in having wife’s MFPA Pt III claim dismissed
If claim allowed, there would be 'no limit to divorce tourism'. Full story: Family Law Week. See Potanin v Potanina, below.

First registrations of opposite-sex civil partnerships set for New Year’s Eve
Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) Regulations 2019 approved by Lords. Full story: Family Law Week. You can find the Regulations here.

Concerns raised about Calderbank offers being used to assess litigation conduct
Reservations have been expressed about plans to change the rules for determining costs at the end of family proceedings. Full story: Law Society Gazette.

CASES
Potanin v Potanina [2019] EWHC 2956 (Fam) (08 November 2019)
Application by husband to set aside grant of leave to wife to apply for financial relief pursuant to Part III MFPA 1984. Application granted. Full report: Bailii.

H (Children: Relocation), Re [2019] EWHC 2881 (Fam) (30 October 2019)
Application by father for permission to relocate children to the Netherlands. Full report: Bailii.

TY (Preliminaries To Intercountry Adoption) [2019] EWHC 2979 (Fam) (07 November 2019)
Application by maternal aunt to adopt nephew, issued three days before his 18th birthday. Full report: Bailii.

*      *      *

For more news, see here.

For more cases, see here.

To subscribe to the Family Lore Focus free weekly Newsletter (which includes links to all of the week's top family law news stories, cases, articles and blog posts), go here.

My posts this week on the Stowe Family Law Blog

My posts this week on the Stowe Family Law Blog included:

The Supreme Court rules on inherent jurisdiction, but what is the ‘inherent jurisdiction’? - The case Re NY (A Child).

Paternity fraud between husband and wife: deceit or conduct? - The case FRB v DCA.

Man ordered to pay child maintenance despite mother agreeing he is not father - The Privy Council case C v C (Jersey).

Alienated mother wins human rights claim - The ECHR case Pisica v The Republic of Moldova.

Have a good weekend.