020 8221 8000 Enquire now

family law

A toolkit for family breakdown in the lockdown

The coronavirus crisis is redefining lifestyles and the boundaries of our interactions; a situation that can challenge even the strongest bonds.  For couples who are struggling in their relationship, or trying to manage co-parenting, anxiety levels are likely to be heightened if it seems there is nowhere to turn, while personal movements are restricted and even the family courts are working remotely.  "For myself, and my colleagues across the country, being a family lawyer means being there for all the challenges, not just the day in court, and at this…

Private Fostering – A short guide

In 2000, the country was shocked to the core by the murder of 8-year-old Victoria Climbié. She was privately fostered with her great aunt, who had arranged a fostering agreement with the child’s parents. After this tragic case, legislation was swiftly introduced to stop another tragedy by ensuring that vulnerable children were placed in safe, secure homes, regardless of the relationship of the carer to the child. It also means that local authorities now have to be a part of any private fostering arrangement, regardless of whether or not it’s…

Change in divorce law looks set to stop the blame game

The news that no-fault divorce is likely to become law has been welcomed, but while the legislation waits for its place in the parliamentary calendar, families must continue to deal with one party being ‘blamed’ for the breakup or wait for the change in the law. And with the parliamentary calendar full of another divorce - the UK’s departure from the EU – no date has been given for debating the proposed changes. Official statistics show that almost half of divorce petitions between 2016 and 2018 cited behaviour as the…

What rights do absent parents have if they come back into a child’s life after several years’ away?

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…

Who chooses whether your kids gets vaccinated?

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…

Surrogacy – what’s the legal standpoint in the UK?

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…

Civil partnerships for heterosexual couples – an update

Big news for heterosexual couples who don’t want to get married – the law is about to change to allow you to apply for a civil partnership. It’s been a while coming, but one of the last areas of inequality in the world of formally recognised partnerships is about to be rectified. The choice to opt for a civil partnership rather than marriage has been closed to heterosexual couples ever since civil partnerships were introduced in 2004, when the Civil Partnership Act stated that only same-sex couples were entitled to…

When the end of summer spells the end of marriage

September is traditionally a time of new beginnings, with children off to school or university and parents back to work, but for many couples, the end of summer can spell the end of marriage. Lawyers often talk about ‘divorce day’ in January and report a similar surge when summer holidays are over, and research1 looking at the timing of divorce petitions bears this out, with peaks after the summer and winter holidays.  The researchers suggest that while troubled couples may view holidays as a time to stand together for children…

Bowling & Co Solicitors – History of the firm

The firm was founded by the late Gilbert Bowling, who in the summer of 1957 set his sights on his own sole practice in Stratford. He located some rooms above the Burtons menswear shop and moved in by late June 1957. However with no working telephone at first and decorators still in refurbishing the offices he did not actually start practising as “Bowling & Co” until 17th July 1957. The premises above Burtons comprised of just a few rooms - numbers 1, 2, 3 and 3a on the first floor…

Changes: Are you eligible for Legal Aid?

The legal aid system drastically changed since 1 April 2013. This was when the Legal Services Commission was replaced by the Legal Aid Agency, and the cuts imposed by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012 took effect. LASPO implements substantial scope cuts to civil legal aid. Domestic violence: trigger evidence Under the new family legal aid rules, most private law services are only available to the victims of domestic violence. In order to be entitled to legal aid, the client has to prove that they…

Back To Top
Search

Powered by How to backup and restore wordpress site

error: Content is protected !!