When conducting financial negotiations in divorce and civil partnership dissolution proceedings, negotiations often take place on a without prejudice basis. What does “without prejudice” mean? The simplest way to think of negotiations described as being without prejudice is that they … read more

Applicants in a divorce can apply for the final order (formerly known as a decree absolute), in order to bring their marriage legally to an end six weeks after the date of the conditional order in the divorce application. However, … read more

Changes in the way that couples divorce have resulted in separation agreements between spouses becoming much less common than they once were. A separation agreement (also known as a Deed of Separation) contains the terms of a financial agreement reached … read more

The government has announced that it is to legislate to remove the presumption in law that contact between a child and both parents is usually in their best interests. The relevant law is at section 1(2A) of the Children Act … read more

For centuries, solicitors have started correspondence by saying “Dear Sirs”. This venerable practice may now be ended following advice from the Law Society. The Law Society’s guidance on diversity and inclusion in language has been changed so that the profession … read more

Angela Rayner’s recent difficulties flagged up not just the importance of getting tax advice before engaging in complicated property transactions, but also the difficulty that can result in a financial order made in divorce proceedings which restricts the parties’ freedom … read more

I frequently read reports in the media about people who have decided to buy a property together, but find themselves court arguing about whether they actually own a share in the property or about how much of the equity they … read more

In 1961, NASA astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American (and second man) in space, was asked by Mission Control what he was thinking about while waiting for the launch of his Mercury-Redstone rocket. He infamously replied, “The fact that every … read more

Back in March, I wrote a blog about Helliwell v Entwistle, where a husband who was told that he needed to learn how to cook by the judge when he argued to the court that it shouldn’t uphold a pre-nuptial … read more

Many people assume that if you divorce or dissolve a civil partnership, the assets should automatically be divided equally. However, this is grossly simplistic. A 50:50 split may be appropriate in some cases, but in many cases there is a … read more