The issue of pensions in financial remedy proceedings is a complex area and has been subject to much change over the years. As many of you will be aware, the Pension Advisory Group (“PAG”) published a comprehensive report ‘A Guide to the Treatment of Pensions on Divorce’ in July 2019. It was a much-welcomed publication … Continue reading
This article seeks to provide a further update from my colleague Paul Tapsell’s article on residential possession and lease forfeiture proceedings during Covid-19. London Borough of Hackney v Okoro [2020] EWCA Civ 681 This case follows the Court of Appeal decision in Arkin v Marshall [2020] EWCA Civ 620 which was recently handed down on … Continue reading
Introduction On Halloween in 2003, the Service Charge (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 (the “Regulations”) came into force, amending section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (“LTA 1985”). This amendment set a financial limit to works carried out on a residential building, beyond which a landlord would have to consult with tenants. That … Continue reading
Summary The recent judgment in S (Parental Alienation: Cult), Re [2020] EWCA Civ 568 provides a useful summary of the law concerning freedom of belief and parental alienation in contested child arrangements orders. The father (F) appealed the refusal of his application for a variation of a child arrangements order amidst continuing concern over the … Continue reading
It is always good to return to basics and remind ourselves of the fundamental principle that ‘findings of fact’ must be based on evidence, and this can include inferences that can properly be drawn from the evidence’. A reminder that it is not on suspicion or simply speculation. (RE A (Fact Finding: Disputed Findings) [2011] … Continue reading
In these times of social distancing & restrictions on movement, when jury trials have come to a halt, and court hearings of all kinds are being adjourned due to the need to maintain social distance. Almost everyone is waiting to see what will happen when the lockdown ends. A backlog of cases is building up, … Continue reading
From the moment that the Government announced the possibility of lockdown measures being imposed, lawyers were inundated with questions about whether and how Child Arrangements Orders should be implemented over this period. As lockdown continues one of our local CAFCASS officers has told practitioners that many parents involved with the service have been able to … Continue reading
Previously, I have considered the Public Sector Equality Duty (“PSED”) and possession proceedings in my article entitled “PSED, Cuckooing and Possession”. Whilst I appreciate that possession proceedings may not be at the forefront in the current climate (and for more information on this, please see Paul Tapsell’s article regarding possession proceedings and the Coronavirus Act … Continue reading
The landscape of February is gone, and legal professionals are all now working in previously unknown circumstances. The daily routine has vanished, we are for the most part not physically attending court, and traditional ways of doing things have changed. Recently I was in a far flung county court with a solicitor colleague as we … Continue reading
Upon returning to Canterbury last month after a week away in London, I am now, like everyone else in the world, only just starting to get used to the surreal new reality we are all living in. However, despite recent events, I have not forgotten how fantastic my first two months of pupillage with Becket … Continue reading
C (A Child) (Interim Separation) [2019] EWCA Civ 1998 (Judgement of Lord Justice, Peter Jackson) _______________________________________________________________________________________ We have all experienced cases, especially when representing a young mother who has been placed with the child, often a first child and a baby, in a mother and baby foster placement and that placement has broken down for … Continue reading
The Coronavirus Act 2020 has put a hold on any existing residential possession proceedings for a period of 90 days and extended the notice period required as a precursor for any new residential possession to three months (section 81 of the Act and Practice Direction 51Z) and removed the right of re-entry or forfeiture for … Continue reading
CAFCASS A County Council v Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) [2019] EWHC 2369 (Fam) Re S [2020] EWHC 217 (Fam) Care proceedings which had originated from a private law dispute between the mother and the fathers of her children. The mother alleged that the fathers had abused their children during contact. … Continue reading
Preparing for A Mediation Appointment As time progresses mediation is being utilised more and more as a result of the significant benefits it provides to parties, including the ability to resolve disputes more quickly and less expensively than court proceedings. Tactics and advocacy utilised during mediation appointments vary greatly between representatives and indeed different disputes … Continue reading
In the case of XW v XH [2019] EWCA Civ 2262 the Court of Appeal overturned a decision made by Baker J (as he then was) in 2017 that the husband (H) should retain the majority of the financial resources partly due to his “special contribution” in a case where H was a ‘breadwinner’ and … Continue reading
I recently represented a claimant defending an application to set aside default judgment. The claimant obtained default judgment for a sum in the region of £2,000 in September 2018 and sought to enforce the judgment in January 2019. The defendant applied to set aside the default judgment in November 2019. The defendant submitted that they … Continue reading
Becket Chambers are continuing to assess the developing situation in relation to Covid-19. We are reviewing the situation daily and will continue to take advice and follow guidance from the Government, Bar Standards Board and Bar Council. All of our systems are cloud based, and as such our clerking team are able to work remotely … Continue reading
The Occupier’s Liability Act 1957 (“1957 Act”) The 1957 Act was enacted to regulate the duty of care which an occupier of premises owes to its visitors. The occupier owes the same duty of care to all its visitors, except in so far as the duty may be extended, restricted, modified or excluded in some … Continue reading
The case of Re A (Children) (Parental Alienation) 2019 EWFC demonstrates clearly the shortcomings of the Family Court to ensure that all children, wherever possible, enjoy a relationship with both of his or her parents. The position of the courts with regard to ordering no direct contact with the absent parent, is that it is … Continue reading
Why, you may be wondering, would a barrister with 28 years’ experience of civil litigation and the adversarial process want to talk about mediation? Surely the whole purpose of barristers, and indeed lawyers, is to let people have their day in court and to demolish the “other side”? The fact of the matter is that … Continue reading
The purpose of this article is to (a) review the guidance set out by the Court of Appeal in the case of Imerman v Tchenguiz and others; Imerman v Imerman [2011] 1 All ER 555 which was heard on the 10th to 12 of May 2010, judgement being handed down on the 29th of July … Continue reading
CAFCASS A County Council v Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) [2019] EWHC 2369 (Fam) Keehan J Judgment: 20th September 2019 This was a public law case which may have relevance in private law proceedings. As part of the threshold grounds, the LA sought a finding that the father had sexually … Continue reading
Hall v Jagger; Akhter v Khan: void, voidable and non- marriages. In 1999, Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger separated and in a move heralding a long and acrimonious legal battle, Jagger sensationally released a public statement saying that he would be contesting Jerry Hall’s petition for divorce on the grounds that he and Jerry Hall … Continue reading
In December 2019 Ms. Justice Russell DBE heard an appeal from a fact-finding hearing that took place in private law Children Act proceedings at the Central Family Court in London in the summer of 2019. Her judgement was given in January 2020 and is reported as JH v. MF [2020] EWHC 86 (Fam). The case … Continue reading
This article explores the issue of domestic abuse in the appeal of Re H v F [2020]. This article should be read in conjunction with Lavinia Glover’s article which analyses the issue of special measures when giving evidence within the same case. JH (Appellant) and MF (Respondent) were 17 years old and 23 years old … Continue reading
We are delighted to welcome Linda Glover who has joined the clerking team as 2nd Junior Clerk.
This article explores the approach a court should take in relation to vulnerable witnesses, in particular those that have experienced domestic abuse. The recent case of H v F [2020] EWHC 86 (Fam) demonstrates that a case will be successful on appeal if the correct procedures are not complied with. Re H v F [2020] … Continue reading
The recent case of AR v ML [2019] EWFC 56 is a cautionary tale against adducing further evidence at a late stage in an attempt to have the last say within financial remedy proceedings. This case centred around the wife’s application for financial remedy arising out of her marriage to the husband. The matter proceeded to a … Continue reading
We are pleased to welcome Allen Worwood who started pupillage on 3rd February 2020.
Financial remedy lawyers are familiar with the Form P1 Pension Sharing Annex under section 24B of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. It records the instructions for how to share a party’s pension and who is to bear the cost, and also contains the parties’ details. It is approved by the court and sent to pension … Continue reading
Early childhood deprivation through neglect and adversity is associated with alterations in the brain structure as adults, despite environmental enrichment in intervening years, according to an article published on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS) on 7.1.2020. The research, carried out by King’s College London, examined the MRI data … Continue reading
This article explores the recent judgment in Re A (Children) (Parental alienation) [2019] EWFC. Re A is a long, drawn out case involving a mother’s repeated inability to promote the children’s relationship with their father. Professionals concluded that she had at best “allowed the demonisation of the father and, at worst, actively encouraged this demonisation … Continue reading
This article discusses a recent case whereby the court found that as the Defendant’s employee had failed to report an issue with a passenger lift, they had not acted reasonably. Therefore, the Defendant had been in breach of s2 of the Occupiers Liability Act 1957. The Background The Claimant had been staying at one of … Continue reading
Faced with the competing claims of transparency and privacy, free speech and family life, family law will always incline towards the latter. Its first instincts are protective, guarding the intimacies and lives of its own subject families and, particularly, its children.[1] First and foremost, family proceedings are and remain private matters. This fundamental principle holds … Continue reading
The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) provide for fixed costs in certain elements of civil proceedings, including Small Claims, Fast Track hearings, ‘Stage 3’ hearings and possession claims. This means that any costs applied for that are not those within the fixed costs regimes are unlikely to be awarded by the Court, unless certain factors apply. … Continue reading
As family practitioners we all frequently deal with cases where parental alienation and/or implacable hostility is alleged. The recent case of Re H (Parental Alienation) [2019] EWHC 2723 (Fam) is one of the recent cases where the Courts are prepared to change residence. This case is also interesting because the subject child was 12, which … Continue reading
Parties named in a court order must follow the order. A party found to be in breach of an order may be fined, imprisoned, ordered to undertake unpaid work or have their assets seized. The penalty is at the discretion of the court. It is important to view each breach in context of the circumstances … Continue reading
In October 2019, Mrs Justice Lieven DBE considered an application by a husband that the wife’s divorce proceedings, and the decree absolute, should be set aside for breaches in relation to service of the proceedings. The case gives an insight into when the courts may consider proceedings for divorce void or voidable and is a … Continue reading
Earlier this year the conflicting authorities of Bhusate v Patel [2019] EWHC 470 (Ch) and Cowan v Foreman and others [2019] EWHC 349 (Fam) cast doubt on the use of standstill agreements in respect of claims intended to be brought under section 2 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (“the Act”). … Continue reading
Further to my previous article on pre-nuptial agreements, I have recently had cause to consider the overlap between the various possible vitiating factors, particularly undue influence and legal advice. Following on from Lord Phillip’s consideration in Radmacher of the vitiating or weight reducing factors of duress, fraud, misrepresentation, undue pressure and unworthy conduct such as … Continue reading
This article provides an update on the mediums that one can serve a claim form and also some of the issues of serving a claim form with modern technology. CPR Part 6 provides guidance on the service of documents. The most common methods of service are by first class post, document exchange or via email. … Continue reading
This article explains the key points about Part 36 offers and provides top tips for avoiding common pitfalls. Part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules (“Part 36”) is a self-contained set of rules designed to encourage both the Claimant and Defendant to settle the claim outside of court. Any offer made under Part 36 is … Continue reading
In my article written in April 2018 “Not “Parental Alienation”? but heading towards intractability? What can be done” I discussed some of the challenges facing the courts where adult conflict threatens to harm the relationship between children and their parents. Two cases decided in 2019 consider further the question of transfer of residence in cases … Continue reading
We are pleased to announce that Christopher Wall and Louisa Adamson have been ranked in Chambers and Partners, 2020 guide. Christopher Wall Junior who is predominantly instructed in matrimonial finance matters and public law children work. He has notable experience in complex disputes concerning private companies, trusts and international assets, and also regularly tackles difficult children cases … Continue reading
COSTS Timokhina v Timokhin [2019] EWCA Civ 1284 Lord Justice Underhill, Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Moylan Judgment: 18th July 2019 These proceedings concerned the parties’ two children aged 15 and 8. The parents were Russian, who moved to London in 2004. Following the breakdown of the marriage, bitter court proceedings ensued in relation to … Continue reading
We are pleased to announce Cara radford has accepted an offer of tenancy following the successful completion of her pupillage. Cara accepts instructions in all of Chambers core practice areas with a particular focus on Family and General Civil Law.
We are pleased to announce that we have been recommended as a leading regional set in the Legal 500, 2020 guide. “Becket Chambers, which has a presence in Kent and Sussex, is best known for its family work – including members accepting appointments as family mediators – but also handles other civil matters, including personal … Continue reading
In the vast majority of private law cases the issue of habitual residence in respect of a child does not pose an issue. When drafting the orders for the court the section in the CAP template dealing with “habitual residence” is usually filled out without really thinking. Where there is a dispute however, how is … Continue reading
The purpose of this article is to draw attention to 2 recently reported cases dealing with third party trusts. Both emphasise the position that the courts will take in relation to such trusts. In essence third parties cannot be compelled by the court to make lump sum orders. In Daga v Bangur [2018] EWFC 91 a … Continue reading
The impetus for this article arises from care proceedings in which I was recently involved resulting in an unopposed SGO being made to the foster carers. I was instructed on behalf of the child who was aged 4 at the time of the final hearing. The background is not important but the threshold issues included … Continue reading