Family Matters

The High Court heard an application for the wardship of a young male wanting to return to the UK and whether the parents’ decision to remove S to Ghana was within their rights of parental

The High Court was faced with a peculiar set of facts in which the biological father, who is also one of the applicants, was known but the biological mother was not.

Background:

Mr. and Mrs. H met

The Family Court addressed complex and high-cost divorce proceedings, focusing on a legal services payment order and its various components.

Background:

This case relates to two applications made

The Court of Appeal (CoA) was faced with a question regarding a change of given name.

Background:

C is one of three children caught up in bitter litigation between their parents regarding their

The Court of Appeal (CoA) had to answer whether a family member of a secure tenant has the right to buy posthumously under the Housing Act 1985.

Background:

Mrs. Laura Howe was the secure tenant of

The Court heard a case which raised important legal questions regarding the correct interpretation of Section 83 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (ACA 2002) and the possibility of making an

It is tempting to sub-sell interests in a property to your spouse to avoid paying Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). However, such a scheme could, in fact, backfire and result in a higher consideration being

The High Court heard an appeal against interim orders, one of which dispense with Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR) and proceed straight to a final hearing.

Background:

Various interim orders have

The question is often raised as to whether a step-parent living with their partner’s child can acquire parental responsibility and, if so, how. The law is clear that a step-parent who is either

This was the overarching question at the heart of the decision in Armeniakou vs Thomson, whereby the High Court was asked to apply a worldwide freeing order relating to substantial cryptocurrency

The High Court took the opportunity given by this case to issue a stark warning to parents considering unlawful surrogacy abroad. As Sir Andrew McFarlane P noted, this case aims to draw attention

The Supreme Court dismissed a father’s writ of habeas corpus after he challenged a care order over his children.

Background:

The children, aged 11 and 9, were placed under a care order by DJ

The family courts have dealt with various abduction cases over the years and some have had similar factual circumstances. In at least two cases English courts were faced with the children objecting to

The Court of Appeal (CoA) reaffirmed the distinction between Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 (CA 1989) and Section 175 of the Housing Act 1996.

Background:

The claimant, a 17-year-old woman, had

The High Court was faced with tragic circumstances and the difficult question of whether EF could use an embryo created with his sperm and his late wife’s eggs in treatment with a surrogate.

The High Court faced an application for a Parental Order relating to a surrogacy arrangement made in Germany.

Background:

Mrs. W and Mr. W applied for a Parental Order application for their son F

The High Court (HC) recently heard an appeal against a Family Court Order (FCO) permitting a mother to relocate with her child.

Background:

The father and mother met in 2015 and were married in

Financial provision after an overseas divorce is regulated under Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 (MFPA 1984). For the dissolution of a civil partnership, the financial

The High Court quashed a lower court decision due to serious procedural errors and the perception of potential harm to the children.

Background:

The parties had been married but, after they

The High Court considered the scope of the ‘intolerable situation’ that it must consider under Article 13(b) of the Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction

The High Court faced a complex case in which one party alleged that the couple was married in a civil ceremony while the other contended that it was a fraud and that someone had impersonated him. The

The Court of Appeal (CoA) clarified that adoption orders may generally only be set aside on appeal and that the High Court does not have the inherent power to revoke an adoption order.

The Court of Appeal (CoA) had to determine the habitual residence of a newborn child to determine which council was responsible for the care of a baby born prematurely.

Background:

G was born

The High Court dealt with a divorce case ‘as extraordinary as one can imagine’, one that spanned two decades and continents.

Background:

Mr. Taiga, now 77, and Ms. Ogbedo, now 56, were married

The High Court had to apply the common law test for the recognition of foreign adoption.

Background:

Mrs. O, a Nigerian-born born in 1972, moved to live in the UK with her family circa. 1978. In

The Court of Appeal (CoA) was asked whether the Lower Court should have set a judgement aside based on inaccurate evidence given by the wife and her failure to comply with her duty to give full and

The High Court was faced with this very unusual question when a mother did not seek to sequester the father’s property to pay the money she was owed, but rather to fund the costs of her litigation in

The High Court rejected a father’s request for a non-therapeutic circumcision of his son who is subject to a care order.

Background:

G is a 16-month-old boy subject to a care order in favour of the

The High Court was faced with the delicate question of whether parental consent was sufficient for the treatment and restraint of a 12-year-old suffering from severe anorexia nervosa.

The High Court concluded that family proceedings cannot be used to influence the Home Office in making a decision, even if it is in the best interest of the child. Clarifying a child’s immigration