Causes Act News Today

The Government is to review the 1973 Matrimonial Causes Act, which determines how financial assets are split after divorce in England and Wales.

There is an increasing awareness of the importance of mental health in society, and preserving mental health is a clear priority of the next generation. But has financial remedies law has kept up with this positive societal change?

Ancestry searches made easier by major marriage certificate change, says expert Creation of single electronic marriage register eliminates the need for data to be extracted from hard copies. The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Play now SIGN UP When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Your information will be used in accordance with ourPrivacy Notice. Thank you for subscribingWe have more newslettersShow meSee ourprivacy notice The names of both ...

Since 1998 the courts have had the power, on an application to vary spousal maintenance, to order capitalisation by terminating the periodical payments order and making a capital award to meet income needs. In his innovative judgment in AZ v FM [2021] EWFC 2, Mostyn J interpreted s31 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 as also permitting capitalisation of child maintenance on a variation application, a power the court was not previously considered to have. However, whilst this is a significant develop...

For the matrimonial finance and private client lawyer, crypto-assets can form a major part of a clients estate and we are seeing them with increasing frequency. It is vital that we can identify, value and understand them, and advise on their implications for clients, for others interested in client assets, and to assist the court, if necessary. Where are we now with crypto-assets? Although crypto-assets were born as recently as 2008 with Bitcoin following the worldwide banking crash, fewer than...

IU v OS [2020] EWFC 98 This case concerned an application for a financial remedy brought by IU, a wife (‘W’), against OS, her husband (‘H’).  ___ Cohen Js judgment is long (48 pages, 288 paragraphs). This is unsurprising in circumstances where the litigation lasted over 3 years, where the court heard from 12 witnesses (including H and W), where hand-writing experts where asked to assess various documents produced by H (and his team) which themselves required translation and where ord...

Important reminder of the approach taken by a Court in relation to applications for Maintenance Pending Suit Date:3 FEB 2021 The recent case of Rattan v Kuwad [2021] EWCA Civ 1 has provided family lawyers with an important reminder to consider the way in which the courts should approach applications for maintenance pending suit (MPS). The original application came before Deputy District Judge Morris who ordered that the husband pay the wife £2,850 per month on an interim basis to provide...

News Following judgment in R (on the application of GR) v Director of Legal Aid Casework & Anor [2020] EWHC 3140 (Admin), victims of domestic abuse who jointly own property with their abuser must not be automatically denied legal aid on the grounds of capital that is in practice trapped. The court found the Legal Aid Agency has discretion over whether legal aid should be granted in these cases.  This strategic litigation was brought by Public Law Project (PLP) supported by the Law Society S...