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International Women's Day: Spotlight on Martyna Piatkowska

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For  International Women's Day , we are celebrating women's achievements and, in particular, spotlighting our brilliant new generation of solicitors who qualified at the start of the year. We begin with  Martyna Piatkowska , a Family...

Hague Convention Application Dismissed

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Hague Convention Application Dismissed Watkins Solicitors'  International Family Department had a recent success in the High Court in London. The firm acted for a mother who was a Ukrainian citizen and had two children with a French father....

Polish family will celebrate Christmas together again

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In July, one of our clients approached the  International Department  to apply to the Court for permission to move back to her home country of Poland with her children. Our client moved to England approximately eight years ago but was keen to...

Should I get a Pre-Nuptial Agreement?

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We have been receiving many enquiries for Pre-Nuptial Agreements this week following the government’s announcement permitting weddings this Summer.   The breakdown of a marriage is not something we like to consider when planning a wedding,...

The problem with informal financial arrangements...

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Many divorcing couples are able to agree financial arrangements between themselves. This, in principle, is great. Talking sensibly and reasonably about the future and coming to an agreement during times of high emotion is certainly an achievement and it is...

What is a PLO or PPM Meeting?

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A PLO (Public law outline meeting) or PPM (Pre-Proceedings Meeting) is a meeting called by the Local Authority when they have concerns surrounding your care of your child/children. The meeting is an opportunity for the Local Authority to make you aware...

New measures to tackle parental alienation

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From Spring 2018 a new approach will be adopted by CAFCASS (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) to tackle the issue of one parent turning a child against the other following separation. This problem is known as parental alienation and is...

Government issues warning over Trimega Laboratories tests between 2010 & 2014

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Sheldon Price says it is not clear how many cases may be affected by the warning which the Government has issued in respect of cases concerning Trimega between 2010 and 2014. Any clients who may have been affected should obtain legal advice as soon as...

Remarriage following divorce

Beverley Watkins
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Beverley Watkins explains that remarrying before sorting out financial matters from a first divorce can have catastrophic consequences.  If a party to a divorce proceedings remarries before they have dealt with the financial aspects of their divorce,...

Amie Calder discusses Parental orders and Surrogacy arrangements

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The legal parents of a child in cases of surrogacy are the surrogate mother and either the man or woman the surrogate mother was married to or was in a civil partnership with at the time of treatment if they consented to the treatment. The time of treatment is when the embryo or sperm and eggs were placed into the surrogate mother via artificial insemination.  

New Divorce Petition 2017

Beverley Watkins
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Beverley Watkins has been looking at the new Divorce Petition which came into use on 7 th August 2017. The form has been improved and is definitely easier to use.  You can now pay the Court fee by debit/credit card.  If you indicate that you do...

Court of Appeal decision - S-F

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Sheldon Price recently represented a Mother in proceedings in the Court of Appeal – S-F (A Child) [2017] EWCA Civ964 .  Sheldon specialises in Care and Adoption proceedings representing parents, relatives, Guardians and Children in proceedings...

Pensions on divorce - a brief overview

Victoria Shufflebottom
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Victoria Shufflebottom provides a brief overview of pension sharing on divorce. Pensions can be an important aspect to consider when dealing with the financial arrangements on divorce yet they can be overlooked. A couple may understandably focus on more...

Changes to the evidence required to obtain legal aid for victims of domestic violence

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Beverley Watkins welcomed the announcement that the Legal Aid Agency plan to scrap the rule that victims must provide evidence of abuse within the last 5 years and that they plan to widen the evidence. It is not yet clear when the new rules will be...

'BRANGELINA' and conscious uncoupling if they were living in England in Wales

Beverley Watkins
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Everyone seems to be talking about the news that Angelina and Brad have separated. The divorce has been filed in the USA and therefore the law is somewhat different to that in England and Wales. Angelina has apparently filed for divorce on the grounds of...

Fees for divorce proceedings set to increase

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The fee for issuing divorce proceedings is set to increase to £550 from £410.  The same fee applies to applications for a Decree of Nullity or for a dissolution of a civil partnership. At Watkins Solicitors we offer fixed fee divorce...

Female Genitalia Mutilation Protection Orders

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The issue of Female Genitalia Mutilation (FGM) has been frequently discussed in the press and championed by a number of different celebrities. The police and local authorities are concerned about the number of young girls in the UK who are at risk of FGM...

Inheritance received after final financial order made

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When dealing with financial matters following a divorce, it is always advisable to have a final Order which sets out the agreement reached. Once a final Order is made in respect of financial matters, it is only in “exceptional circumstances” that...

Your child's brain development and early life experiences

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Research carried out by the Centre on the developing child at Harvard University shows that early experiences influence your child’s brain development, even before your child is born. The period from conception to the first three years of a...

Report of Vulnerable Witnesses and Children working Group

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In February 2015 the Judiciary of England and Wales produced a report of Vulnerable Witnesses and Children working Group. The Outcome of that report (although a further report is due in July 15) is summarised below; 1. That the term vulnerable witnesses...

Women's experience of financial abuse and potential implications for Universal Credit

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A new report by the TUC and Women’s Aid – Women’s experience of financial abuse and potential implications for Universal Credit, published on 12th March 2015 https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/FinancialAbuse.pdf – highlights...

Grandparents

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As many as 40% of children lose contact with their grandparents following parental separation. Grandparents often wrongly assume that they have ‘grandparents rights’ and have the legal right to see their grandchildren. This is not the case....

The government is considering introducing a law which will create a specific offence of domestic violence.

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Beverley Watkins, comments, “It is already a criminal offence to assault another person, we already have offences of assault, GBH etc. The real issue is the way domestic violence is treated by the police and the Courts. The police frequently, despite a...

Supervised Contact and Supported Contact

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In certain cases parents or the court might decide that there should be a period of supervised contact. It might be appropriate for there to be supervised contact for a number of reason such as the amount of time that has passed since a child has seen the...

GAY SPERM DONER TOLD TO PAY CHILD MAINTENANCE FOR HIS TWO CHIDREN

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He has had no contact with the family since 2004 but the CSA have asked him to pay maintenance. A gay man from Essex who donated his sperm to enable a lesbian couple to have two children, but who was never named on their birth certificate and had no role in...

Case histories - Father's access to child

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The recent case of ‘S’ will make depressing reading for many fathers who are striving to have contact with their children. The background to the case is that S, aged 12, had been the subject of court proceedings almost continuously since 1999....

Unmarried couples should prepare for all eventualities

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Unmarried couples should prepare for all eventualities says Law Society The Law Society says unmarried couples are at risk if they don’t plan or prepare for all eventualities when co-habiting or combining assets. Following a recent case where a man...