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The Only Person I Am Constantly With Is Me “It is still the case that 50/50 shared care arrangements between parents are comparatively rare in private law children cases. Research shows that a number of factors have to be in place, practical matters such as the close geographical proximity, but,[...]

An order that no step which could be taken by a parent in meeting his or her parental responsibility for a child, and which is of a kind specified in the order, shall be taken by any person without the consent of the court. Parents, guardians or holders of a residence order (“lives with” child[...]

AI McKenzie Friend to help fight a speeding case in court Later this month, an artificial intelligence from the company DoNotPay will assist a defendant in court with their speeding case. The AI will run on a phone, listen to everything said in the courtroom, and then instruct the defendant via an[...]

Is indirect contact working to promote contact between parents and their children? We talk about indirect contact fairly regularly, as it is an important part of our work as McKenzie Friends. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept, indirect contact is when the court orders that a parent may[...]

Norfolk MP takes the family court backlog into the Commons… Duncan Baker, MP for North Norfolk, highlighted the impact of the backlogs in the House of Commons recently saying that significant backlogs were having “real knock-on effects on families, single parents and children”. Family[...]

Parental Alienation or Implacable Hostility: The Language of the Family Court Content warnings – this article discusses paedophilia and other paraphilias. It also mentions child suicide and rape. We believe it is important to be aware of the history behind the terms ‘parental alienation’[...]

Under Section 3 of the Children Act 1989 this is defined as all rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to a child and his property. Aspects of parental responsibility include: determining the child’s religion, education, name,[...]

Family court reporting to be allowed for the first time Until now, reporters have been able to observe hearings, but only report what was specifically allowed by a judge. From the end of January 2023, journalists in Leeds, Cardiff, and Carlisle will be able to report on what they see and hear during[...]

The principle home in which parties to the marriage reside or resided. Matrimonial property comprises all property acquired by either spouse, or both of them, between the date of marriage and the date of separation. An exception to this is a home purchased prior to marriage when it is intended as[...]

Who’s Who In The Family Court 1. The Judge A judge is the person who presides over the proceedings. In the Family Court, there are three levels of judges who are likely to hear your case. These are: District Judge: These are the judges who hear the most family law cases Circuit Judge: These[...]

A case of extreme parental alienation was heard in London earlier this year, in which a father was being alienated by his ex-wife. She was manipulating the children, and going to extreme lengths to do so. This case had been to court several times, spanning many years. A team of psychiatrists had been[...]

A clean break means ending the financial ties between you and your ex-partner (husband, wife or civil partner) as soon as reasonable after your divorce or dissolution. Where there is a clean break, there will be no spousal maintenance payments. The only way you can guarantee that your ex-partner doesn’t[...]