News/Blogs  

  HOUSEHOLDS, HARDSHIP AND THE PROMISE OF COHABITATION RIGHTS  

In recent years, certain dominant themes have been evident in households across England and Wales. One has been the degree to which marriage might or might not be favoured by couples. The most recent data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that there were 246,897 marriages in 2022 (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/marriagecohabitationandcivilpartnerships/bulletins/marriagesinenglandandwalesprovisional/2021and2022). Although that constituted […]

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  SHINING LIGHT: THE IMPACT OF OPENING UP FAMILY COURTS  

There are, I would suggest, few individuals who would disagree with the idea that greater awareness has distinct merits. Amongst those in the judiciary or lawyers working in the family court system, the concept of transparency has many supporters, for sure. They include Sir Andrew McFarlane who, since his promotion to the post of President […]

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  NEVER TEAR US APART: DISCLOSURE, GIFTS AND FAMILY RIFTS  

The importance of family ties can be seen and expressed in many different ways. One of the most common is a centuries-old proverb explaining that “blood is thicker than water”. Nevertheless, the bonds between kith and kin can still be tested and even broken, as a newly released Family Court ruling illustrates only too well […]

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  Giving children a voice with Child-Inclusive Mediation  

Children’s Mental Health Week took place at the beginning of this month, organised and run by the children’s mental health charity Place2Be, and was all about helping young people speak up and feel empowered to talk about mental health. We know how important and valuable this is from a Child-Inclusive Mediation perspective, as it empowers […]

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  HALL BROWN MOTORS ON WITH TRIPLE ‘NORTHERN POWERHOUSE’ AWARD LISTING  

Hall Brown Family Law has hailed its latest awards’ recognition as justification of the strength of its nationwide operations. The firm has been shortlisted in two categories – Private Client Firm of the Year and Boutique Firm of the Year – at the Northern Powerhouse Awards, organised by the individuals behind the Legal 500 legal […]

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  RELATIONSHIP RECESSION: (UN)COUPLING AND CONSEQUENCES  

Time flies. Just over a decade ago, the Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow and the equally celebrated lead singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin, announced the decision to end their 11-year marriage. It was far from the first celebrity break-up but, however, it became nearly as famous as their exploits on stage and screen thanks to the […]

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  WASTED ENERGY: HOW MEDIATION CAN CUT COSTS AND CONFLICT IN DIVORCE  

It is a fact that although divorce is one of life’s singular events, it still has a sense of duality – marking the end of what might have been a long relationship and the beginning of new lives for the individuals involved. From the perspective of a family lawyer like myself, it is important to […]

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  SECOND TIME AROUND: THE MID-LIFE DIVORCÉS SPURRING REMARRIAGE  

In recent years, family life in England and Wales has seemed very dynamic. Yet, for all this change, commentary about what has been happening in households has contained certain recurring themes. One of them is the apparent demise of marriage. It is true that the number of marriages in 2022 – the most recent year […]

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  TAIL WAGS DOG: WHEN PET DISPUTES DERAIL DIVORCES  

Britain is, by reputation, a nation of animal lovers. The most recent statistics made available by one of the UK’s leading veterinary charities, the PDSA, would appear to bear that out (https://www.pdsa.org.uk/what-we-do/pdsa-animal-wellbeing-report/uk-pet-populations-of-dogs-cats-and-rabbits). It calculated that more than half of all homes now have a cat, dog or rabbit. That percentage actually increased during the Covid […]

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  USING TECH AND TACTICS TO TACKLE DOMESTIC ABUSE  

Whenever crime figures are published, there is a temptation for some people to focus on the numbers. They may be shocking in themselves but such scrutiny can mean that the experience of those individuals who are the victims of crime becomes lost amidst a forest of statistics. It was something of which I was acutely […]

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