Wrigley Claydon Solicitors

Category: Family Law

  • Ministry of Justice announces Manchester County Court will be piloting extended hours

    Ministry of Justice announces that from early Spring 2019 Manchester County Court will be piloting extended hours to deal with some types of family cases in the late afternoon/early evenings.

    Although the details of the pilot in Manchester are not yet fully clear it is believed that what is proposed is an additional court running from 16.30-19.00 on a Monday with possible expansion to a Wednesday.

    Rhona Royle, Head of Family Law at Wrigley Claydon Solicitors in Oldham, Todmorden and Manchester welcomes the scheme and says that “The types of cases being dealt with at these sessions will depend on the type and availability of Judges to hear them.

    The Manchester scheme may involve some “money” cases where parties are trying to come to a financial settlement within Divorce and some “children” cases where parents are unable to agree how much time a child should spend with each parent or who they ought to live with.

    The scheme is also likely to see “urgent” cases such as those relating to domestic violence (injunctions) and cases where children are at risk of significant harm and social services departments which to remove them temporarily from the care of parents dealt with.

    Rhona explains: “At present Family Courts traditionally sit from 10am until 4pm Monday to Friday. In reality if a case is scheduled to start at 10am and last half a day there is a real risk that it might not get concluded before lunchtime so parties often have to book a full day off work to attend. If a hearing is to start at say 16.30, even allowing for time to discuss matters beforehand, only a half day’s leave would be needed or workers could make the missed time up”.

    This test scheme may not find favour with all as it could impact on childcare arrangements.

    Given how busy the family courts currently are I believe this scheme should be welcomed to reduce delays in waiting time to see a judge.

    In the other pilot court (Brentford) early morning hearings; from 8am are to be tested.

  • Most popular day for marriages sees local Solicitor, Rhona Royle, campaign to raise awareness of the common-law marriage myth

    Saturday 18 August has been reported as the most common day in 2018 to tie the knot in the UK. However, since the early 1970s, the number of people actually getting married has steadily decreased, dropping a further 3.4% last year. There have been many theories about why marriage rates are falling, but regardless the fact remains that fewer people are formalising their relationship.

    In 2016 there were 3.3m cohabiting couples or around 6.6million cohabiting adults. This is officially the fastest growing family type, more than doubling from 1.5million couples just 20 years ago. Yet, a 2017 ComRes survey showed that only one couple in three knew there was no such thing as common law marriage.

    The issue is widespread, with nearly 98% of professionals from family justice group Resolution reported having worked with a cohabiting couple who they were unable to help. A further 90% said the couples are often surprised to find out about their lack of rights.

    To help raise awareness of this issue Rhona Royle from Wrigley Claydon Solicitors in Oldham and Todmorden is campaigning to raise awareness and encourage cohabiting couples to take steps protect themselves and their families.

    Rhona explains: “If an unmarried couple breaks up, they would not necessarily be entitled to share in (what they thought were their) joint assets, such as a house they may have made significant financial contributions to, if they aren’t named as an owner on the deed. This is the same regardless of how long they have been together or whether they have children.”

    In the absence of action from government, these couples need to know that they are not given rights through common law marriage but they can take appropriate actions to protect themselves. For example signing a cohabitation agreement is an easy and cost effective way to get financial peace of mind without getting married or forming a civil partnership.”

  • How Wrigley Claydon played a part in the World’s First baby to be conceived via IVF

    Louise Brown, the World’s First Baby conceived via IVF was born on the 25th July 1978, at Oldham General Hospital.

    On 10th November 1977, Louise’s Mother, Lesley Brown underwent a procedure, later to become known as in vitro fertilisation (IVF), developed by Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy.

    Patrick Steptoe was a client of Wrigley Claydon Solicitors, and at the time Paul Vincent, who was a junior parnter, was asked to draw up legal papers for a research trust to be set up by Steptoe and Professor Bob Edwards concerning the whole IVF issue which the pair were pioneering.

    Robert Edwards, whose research enabled IVF won a Nobel prize. Although the media referred to Louise Brown as a “test tube baby”, her conception actually took place in a petri dish.

    Source: Oldham Chronicle

  • Domestic Abusers still able to Cross-Examine Victims in Court

    Victims of domestic violence continue to be cross-examined by their abusers in family courts despite the government the then justice secretary, Liz Truss, pledging in February 2017 to ban the “humiliating and appalling” practice, a report by Women’s Aid and Queen Mary University of London has found.

    Survivors reported they were repeatedly not believed, blamed for experiencing abuse, and seen as unstable by judges, barristers and Cafcass officers. One woman said her abusive ex-partner was able to cross-examine her about her sexual history during child contact proceedings.

    A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We will legislate to ban the unacceptable practice of abusers cross-examining their victims in the family court as soon as possible. The law is clear that the child’s welfare is paramount, and it is for judges to determine what is best for the child after careful consideration of the facts in each case.”

     

    If you are looking for family advice then please call 0161 624 6811 (option 3) to speak to our Family Department.

  • UK Supreme Court to hear rare contested divorce case

    Five Supreme Court judges will decide whether to let Mrs Owens divorce her husband after lower courts decided she was not entitled to one. They will deliver their judgment later this year.

    Mrs Owen she says she’s been unhappy for many years and she feels locked in a loveless marriage. However, Mr Owens does not feel the same way and has been successfully contesting the divorce.

    The UK’s most senior judge, Baroness Hale – one of the Supreme Court judges overseeing the Owens case – has repeatedly called for the laws to be overhauled, describing them as “confusing” and “unjust”.

    Under current divorce law a couple have to prove in court that their marriage has irretrievably broken down.

    At least one of five specific reasons must be shown:

    • adultery
    • unreasonable behaviour
    • desertion after two years
    • two years’ separation (if both parties agree to the divorce)
    • five years’ separation (if one party does not agree to the divorce)

    Mrs Owens cited 27 allegations about her husband’s “unreasonable behaviour” – including that he was “insensitive” in his “manner and tone”, she was “constantly mistrusted” and felt unloved. But a family law judge refused the divorce, saying her allegations were “of the kind to be expected in marriage”. The Court of Appeal agreed that “in law” the marriage had not broken down.

    Her situation is seen as “highly unusual” because in most cases neither party contests the divorce and it is granted.

     

    If you are looking for family advice then please call 0161 624 6811(option 5) to speak to our Family Department.

  • £6m pledge for children of alcoholics

    The Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced plans to help children living with alcoholic parents. The Department of Health and Social Care is seeking to identify children at risk more quickly, and to provide them with rapid access to support and advice.

    The package of measures is backed by £6 million funding designed to help an estimated 200,000 children in England living with alcohol-dependent parents.

    The measures include:

    • fast access to support and mental health services for children and their families where there is a dependent drinker
    • quicker identification of at-risk children, including those undertaking inappropriate care responsibilities
    • the provision of outreach programmes to get more parents successfully through addiction treatment
    • early intervention programmes to reduce the numbers of children needing to go into care.

    Local authorities will be invited to bid for funding by coming up with innovative solutions based on local need, with priority given to areas where more children are affected.

     

    If you are looking for family advice then please call 0161 624 6811 to speak to our Family Department.

  • District Judge Read has publicly criticised the lack of funding for a woman alleging rape and sexual assault

    District Judge Read has publicly criticised the lack of funding for a woman alleging rape and sexual assault against her ex-husband, suggesting it may have resulted in a miscarriage of justice.

    The family court at Middlesbrough heard details of the allegations from the woman in a case to decide what contact her 10-year-old daughter should have with the father.

    Both parties in JY v RY were unrepresented, leaving the court to prepare makeshift bundles, each litigant to prepare their own questions for cross-examination, and an alleged victim of domestic abuse with no moral and practical support in court. After some time in the witness box she stopped giving evidence, saying she could not continue.

    District Judge Read expressed surprise that the mother, who is dependent on state benefits, had failed the means test and was not eligible for legal aid.

    The Judge found allegations of assault by the father against the mother and an older son proved, along with aggressive and abusive behavior by the father to her while on holiday. But the judge could not find allegations of rape, sexual assault and abusive behavior to the youngest children proven.

    The Judge said the court must now decide to what extent the father’s contact time with his daughter should be supervised.

     

    If you are looking for family advice then please call 0161 624 6811 to speak to our Family Department.

  • Adam Lennon, head of family modernisation and improvement at HM Courts & Tribunals Service, told a Westminster Legal Policy Forum that enabling people to apply for a divorce online could eliminate up to 13,000 hours of time spent by court staff checking divorce petitions

    Adam Lennon, head of family modernisation and improvement at HM Courts & Tribunals Service, told a Westminster Legal Policy Forum that enabling people to apply for a divorce online could eliminate up to 13,000 hours of time spent by court staff checking divorce petitions.

    Lennon spent years in the courts service issuing divorce petitions. He returned an estimated 4 out of every 10 petitions to the applicant because of an error. ‘In many cases, applicants and their legal representatives were not able to accurately copy word-for-word the place of marriage from the marriage certificate.”

    HMCTS piloted a scheme last year enabling people to apply for a divorce online, print off the form and send it to court. The service has been extended so that people can submit a form, send relevant documents and make payments.

    The number of rejected applications fell from 40% of all paper applications received to 7% for digital applications.

    HMCTS is also considering adopting a similar approach for the process for caring for vulnerable children.

    President of the Family Division Sir James Munby said online divorce had been a ‘triumphant success’ but there were still five ‘burning issues’ requiring statutory reform: no-fault divorce; cohabitants’ property rights; ancillary relief; alleged perpetrators of domestic abuse being able to cross-examine alleged victims; and transparency, to review.

     

    If you are looking for family advice then please call 0161 624 6811 to speak to our Family Department.

  • Digital C100 application form will be piloted in family courts

    HM Courts & Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the President of the Family Division have announced that the digital C100 application form will be piloted in family courts in Reading, Milton Keynes, Watford and Guildford.

    The new digital C100 offers an opportunity to improve the way in which HMCTS supports users and presents information to judges and others within the family justice system.

    • the form can be effective in informing families about appropriate out-of-court dispute resolution services;
    • families can use this information to access safe out-of-court services instead of submitting a court application;
    • a digital C100 form will help HMCTS to collect information from applicants more efficiently and to improve the provision of information regarding risk and Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) exemption;
    • contextual information and tailored support helps litigants in person to navigate the C100; and

    Following the pilot, further roll-out is anticipated to Essex and Suffolk, East London, Bristol, Medway and to a Designated Family Judge (DFJ) area in Wales.

     

    If you are looking for family advice then please call 0161 624 6811 to speak to our Family Department

  • Children affected by a family break-up will be helped to stay in contact with their grandparents

    Children affected by a family break-up will be helped to stay in contact with their grandparents under reforms being contemplated by ministers in Scotland. They are considering a legal presumption that children stay in touch after a divorce or separation. At present, grandparents have no legal entitlement to their grandchildren.

    Currently, grandparents in Scotland can apply for a contact order, or a residence order if they believe the children should live with them. However, in England grandparents and have no automatic right to apply for contact.

    Should grandparents in England have legal entitlement to their grandchildren?

    If you are looking for family advice then please call 0161 624 6811 to speak to Terri Pickup in our Family Department or email tp@wrigleyclaydon.com