Family

Interview with Vikram Kumar, Solicitor in our Family Law department Q: How long have you worked at Bowling & Co? A: Since October 2013. Q: What aspects of law first attracted you to the profession? A: The ability to help others by finding practical solutions to dealing with their matters with the benefit of knowledge and experience of the legal issues related to them. Q: Who (or what) inspired you? A: Watching my parents as I grew up working very hard to provide for my brother and me. Q: How…

The concept of a traditional family unit has changed, and, in some situations, this can give rise to problems. Figures from 2016 suggest that not only does it have a huge impact on the mental wellbeing of the family unit, but it has a financial impact too. According to the Relationships Foundation’s report ‘The Cost of Family Failure Index’, the economic impact of family breakdown in 2016 was higher than the UK defence budget, at an astonishing £48billion. That breaks down to an individual cost for each and every taxpayer…

For decades, vaccinations have been regarded as the most important form of defence against childhood illnesses like measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). And for decades, parents happily vaccinated their kids to protect them (and others) without question. Then, around 10 years ago, serious doubts began to be raised as to the safety of vaccines by the now-discredited Andrew Wakefield, who called into question the safety and validity of combination vaccines like MMR. Despite the research eventually being proven to be full of errors and, in fact, flat-out wrong, some parents…

The news that you’re unable to have children of your own can be devastating for parents, especially if it’s all you can think about. Same-sex couples may also face challenges when it comes to starting a family. Other than adoption, one of the most logical answers is surrogacy. But what is the legal position on surrogacy in the UK, and does existing law protect all parties involved, including the surrogates? Paying a surrogatee Recently, one of the country’s most senior family law judges, James Munby, called for the question of…

Not everyone wants to get married in a church or registry office. For many cohabiting couples, a civil partnership is far more attractive – it moves away from the idea of women being the ‘property’ of their husbands and is infinitely more acceptable to those who do not follow any particular faith. Civil partnerships have been available for same-sex couples since 2004, yet they are still not available for heterosexual couples who cohabit. In June the legality of denying heterosexual couples the right to have a civil partnership was challenged…

For Generation X'ers and Baby Boomers, it was unthinkable to stay at home beyond a certain age, usually your late teens to early 20s. With reasonably affordable property prices and rents, most of those born from 1960 onwards had probably flown the nest by the time they were 18. However, today’s ‘Millennials’ face a huge housing problem, with astronomical property prices well beyond the reach of anyone even on a good salary, and high rents. That means more 20-somethings (and even those in their 30s) are still living at home…

If you’re a recently divorced step-parent and are wondering what rights you have in regard to seeing your step-children, there’s a number of things you need to know. Here, we take a look at what happens after a divorce, what measures a step-parent can take in order to gain access to a step-child, and whether there any financial obligations that needs to be met. A legal definition of a 'step-parent' In order to work out what legal rights and responsibilities are shouldered by step-parents after a divorce, we first need…

No matter how bad a marriage or partnership breakdown is, it can be ten times worse if there are children involved. Every situation will be different and depend on the unique circumstances of the family unit. But whatever happens, it is imperative that the children are protected from any animosity between the parents. Put simply, no matter how acrimonious the break up, making the process as stress free as possible for the children should be everyone’s concern. It will certainly be the family court’s number one priority above everything else,…