Article Category: Insight & Opinion

The Government has released details about the new protocol requiring divorcing couples to seek mediation. Couples are required to attend one awareness session in order to assess whether a case is suitable for mediation or not. In practice, this may seem like a good idea, as mediation is one way of resolving such disputes on… Read more »

The latest facts and figures regarding divorce in England and Wales have just been published and make interesting reading. The recession continues to bite, forcing many couples to stay together for financial reasons and the number of couples living together rather than marrying has also had an effect on the number of divorces. The number… Read more »

Is it possible that the “Common Law Marriage” myth could be about to come true? For many years, thanks to newspapers and soap operas the public has believed that there was such a thing as a common law marriage. It was a fairly well held belief that if you cohabited for a few years or… Read more »

The biggest changes to court procedure for 20 years have been announced. New rules will come into force on 06 April 2011 with important changes, some of which are highlighted below. The new Family Procedure Rules 2010 will govern all children cases at all levels of court. New forms will also be introduced. The “overriding… Read more »

From 01 February 2011, the much awaited change to the Market Capitalisation / Revenue test has been introduced. The Stock Exchange had previously announced, in its Consultation Conclusions, that it proposed to change the minimum number of shareholders that would be required to satisfy such test when seeking a listing and placing reliance on the… Read more »

The Government has confirmed that the Default Retirement Age (DRA) of 65 will be phased out from 6 April 2011, with complete abolition on 1 October 2011. The Government has worked with Acas to produce comprehensive guidance to help businesses adapt to the change. From 6 April 2011, employers will no longer be able to… Read more »

2011 seems to be a year when the divorce rate will soar if the number of referrals in the first two weeks of this year is anything to go by. The stresses and strains of the Christmas period have proved too much for many couples – one of our solicitors has a record 12 new clients… Read more »

The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has finalised its Corporate Governance Policy and Voting Guidelines. As pension funds are one of the largest investors in quoted companies, the importance of the new guidelines could not be over emphasised and have particular relevance to meetings tabled at short notice. The updated guidelines follow the UK… Read more »

The government has announced plans to look at charging for using the CSA. The coalition government’s plans are set out in a Green Paper. The aim of the proposed changes is reportedly to support families in making their own arrangements. Whilst this in itself may be a laudable aim, it is a real cause for… Read more »

The long awaited consultation paper on Pre Nuptial agreements has been published by the government. It proposes to reform the law and seeks views on a number of options. This is not the first time changes have been proposed but following the Radmachher case the government has had to act, as the courts should not… Read more »