Family Law News

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UK Government Divorce Software Glitch

Reports emerged last week of a glitch with an online government divorce settlement form that may have affected as many as 20,000 people.

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Campaign to Update UK Adultery Laws

A woman is campaigning to update the adultery laws and the grounds for divorce in the UK after she was unable to divorce her husband citing adultery.

The woman, who spoke to a BBC Radio Four show stated that when she contacted her lawyer to begin divorce proceedings on grounds of adultery against her husband who had been having an affair, she was unable to as he had only had an affair with members of the same sex. Under UK law adultery can only occur with a member of the opposite sex and must involve vaginal intercourse. Therefore, she was unable to divorce her husband on said grounds.

Following the breakdown of her marriage of over 20 years, the woman was forced to cite unreasonable behaviour as the reason for the divorce.

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Celebrity Couple Announce Divorce

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have announced their divorce in a joint statement the day after their tenth wedding anniversary.

The Hollywood A-listers who married in 2005 have three children and according to many media outlets are worth over $150 million. However, according to numerous sources, although Affleck will live on the same property as his former wife to take care of the children, the couple have no prenuptial agreement in place.

Reports indicate that the couple will liaise with business managers and use a mediator when negotiating the terms of their divorce. The negotiation could be drawn out due to the high number of properties owned by the couple, the success of both individuals and other factors such as syndication income. Despite the potential negotiation, the couple will share custody of their children.

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New Divorce Centres Aim to Finalise Divorce in 48 Hours

According to The Times, divorce centres will open in England and Wales that will aim to make getting a divorce as easy as obtaining a TV licence.

The move will effectively allow couples to get an “over the counter” divorce with the 120,000 seen in the UK being taken out of the UK court system and away from the public eye. The centres will aim to conclude a divorce in 48 hours and handle the vast majority of UK cases with the vast amount of paperwork being dealt with by administrators rather than judges.

Under the current divorce system in England and Wales, uncontested divorces cost around £400 and last on average 33 weeks.

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UK Supreme Court To Rule Over Fraud In Divorces

An appeal has been launched by two women who stated that they were tricked into accepting sub-par divorce settlements due to their former husbands lying about their wealth.

Varsha Gohil and Alison Sharland are both seeking to reopen their case as they felt that they were duped into taking a settlement offer after their former husbands misled them and the court. This week the cases have been reexamined by the Supreme Court with a judgement expected in the next year.

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Social Media A Major Player in UK Divorces

Social media is a major catalyst in divorces in the UK according to a recent report conducted by Slater and Gordon.

The survey comes following the questioning of over 2,000 married Britons and revealed the growth in the power of social media, and the impact it is having on marriages across the UK. The survey found that one in seven of those questioned would consider a divorce due to the behaviour of their partner on social media.

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Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin Finalise Divorce

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin have filed for divorce after announcing they had split up over a year ago.

The Coldplay frontman and Hollywood actress announced they had "consciously uncoupled" in March 2014 after ten years of marriage. The couple had two children together but took significant time before officially filing the papers.

There have been mixed reports on the settlement agreement between the couples with some stating that their business managers and solicitors have been left to argue the details, with others reporting that everything has been split equally.

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Introduce Blame Free Divorces According to Senior Judge

One of the UK’s most senior judges believes that adultery should be removed as a reason for divorce in order to create blame free divorces. Baroness Hale believes that such a development would end bitter divorce battles.

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Calls For No Fault Divorces

The law should be changed to allow blame-free divorces in England according to leading charity group Resolution.

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Government Scrap Proposals to Increase Divorce Fee

The Government has announced that it has scrapped plans to increase the cost of beginning divorce proceedings in the UK following a consultation on the matter.

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Divorce Damages Children’s Exam Results

According to research, a breakdown of family life and divorce have a significant effect on a child's personal life and exam results.

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Christmas a stressful time for divorcing couples

A recent survey conducted on behalf of family law body Resolution has revealed that more than 40% of people find the Christmas season “very stressful,” while one in three (33%) say they “just want the Christmas season to be over as soon as possible."

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Proposed Children Act amendment is misguided

A recent report has described the Government’s plans to amend the 1989 Children Act by introducing a presumption of shared parenting as well-intentioned but misguided.

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Proposals to enable children to see both their parents are launched

Plans to strengthen the law so children continue to see both parents if they separate have been put forward by ministers.

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American couples fight over finances

A recent survey conducted in America has found that couples average three arguments a month about financial issues, and that three in ten adults who are married or living with a partner admit to potentially deceitful behaviour about money.

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The changing shape of society

Statistics showing the changing shape of society over sixty years have been released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

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Charity responds to equal marriage consultation

Children's charity, 4Children, has responded to the Government's equal marriage consultation, supporting the step forward for equality, and asking the government to go further where there is a clear case for doing so.

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Legislation to support families and children

New legislation announced in the Queen's Speech aims to improve family justice by reducing delays in the system and speeding up adoption processes.

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Facts on fatherhood in America

Recent figures released in America have given an insight into the profile of fathers in America.

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Impact of divorce on fathers

Recent research carried out on behalf of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fatherhood has looked at the impact on fathers of divorce or separation from their partners.

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