Extending marriage to accommodate same-sex couples

Stonewall - a charity committed to achieving equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people - has recently published a draft parliamentary bill intended to extend the legal form of marriage to same-sex couples in England and Wales. The bill itself - titled the …

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Children in Divorce

With one in five children losing contact with a parent following divorce, Mark Smith asks who is ultimately responsible… Can you imagine never hearing from or seeing one of your parents again? It sounds like a heart-wrenching prospect doesn’t it? …

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Legal right for parents to see their children

This Government is considering a number of ways to try and support family life with both parents playing a significant role in the lives of their children.   In a separate article on this website there is reference to a Government …

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COMMENT

Family Solicitor Devon: Pension sharing – on the up

The Telegraph recently reported that pension sharing orders in divorce settlements rose by 11% last year.   This trend looks likely to persist given that it has also been recently announced that the divorce rate has just risen for the first …

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COMMENT

Facebook used to serve court proceedings

In a landmark legal ruling just announced, the High Court has given permission for Court Proceedings to be served on a Defendant via Facebook. This principle is not entirely new, but it is the first time that service of proceedings …

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COMMENT

Forcing fathers to sign birth certificates

Parents who have Parental Responsibility for a child have what is described in the Children Act as “all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which, by Law, the parent of a child has in relation to the child and …

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Pre-nuptial agreements after Radmacher

A recent Court of Appeal case was the first of its kind to apply the new principles adopted by the English Courts to pre-nuptial agreements. The appeal in V v V was heard in October 2011 and followed the landmark …

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Divorce Solicitor Devon – Law Commission to review finance on divorce

Two key areas that influence how finance should be divided on divorce are to be reviewed by the Law Commission it has been announced. The Commission will consider the extent to which one party should be required to meet the …

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Ending A Contract

A and B have formed a contract and A would like to end the contract. What can A do? There are 5 ways to discharge a contract: challenge to validity; frustration; agreement; breach; and performance Challenge to validity A can …

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COMMENT

Is putting ‘subject to contract’ in an email footer enough to stop a contract being formed?

Is putting ‘subject to contract’ in an email footer enough to stop a contract being formed? A disclaimer will be less effective if it is hidden in an email footer rather than obviously displayed. There is an assumption that two …

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