Talking Family Law - The Resolution Podcast

What is the correct approach to a maintenance case? Listen to Sally Harrison KC (St John’s Buildings) and Farhana Shahzady (Streathers Solicitors) tell us how it is done.    Sally reminds us of the guidance of Mr Justice Peel in WC v HC (Financial Remedies Agreements) (Rev1) [2022] EWFC 22 (22 March 2022)  https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/HCJ/2022/22.html when thinking about the quantum of a m...

This month we are joined by Hilary Woodward (Honorary Senior Research Fellow with Bristol School of Law), Paul Cobley (Oak Barn Financial Planning) and Rhys Taylor (36 Group) to discuss PAG2: https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/A-guide-to-the-treatment-of-pensions-on-divorce-2nd-edition.pdf   Hilary tells us about the changes in PAG2 and mentions the guide to the changes whi...

This month we are treated to this tour de force by Robert Cole who is Head of the Family Team at Broadway House Chambers, Leeds and regularly sits as an arbitrator and ENE/pFDR adjudicator across the country, and Peter Smith from Quantis Forensic Accountants about how to analyse business accounts.    We immediately launch into a discussion about what should cause you concern in business accounts,...

In this episode we are joined by Professor Emma Hitchings (Bristol University), Professor Emerita Gillian Douglas (Kings College, London), and Joanne Edwards (Chair of Resolution’s Family Law Reform Committee/Forsters) to discuss the Fair Shares report.   This report is the first time there is a fully representative picture of the financial arrangements families make (and in a lot of instances, do...

This month we take an in-depth look at mediation with Jo O’Sullivan (O’Sullivan Family Law), Dr Jon Symonds (University of Bristol) and Rachel Chisholm (The Mediation Space, 4PB). In November 2022, Dr Symonds with his colleagues Emma Dermott, Emma Hitchings, Eleanor Staples, and Heather Ottaway from Bristol University published research with the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, called Separati...

This month we talk to Professor Jane Monckton-Smith.  The Professor is a specialist in homicides that are preceded by domestic abuse and coercive control.  This is important for every single professional working in the family justice field because the Professor tells us that separation is the single biggest factor in homicide. Coercive control is domestic abuse – it is not a facet of domestic abus...

In this episode we are joined by Nicholas Bennett (29 Bedford Row), and Connie Atkinson (Kingsley Napley) who are both experts and enjoy pre-nuptial work including drafting, supporting or challenging pre-nups in Court.   Any discussion of pre-nups of course starts with Radmacher v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42, but we swiftly move on to Crossley applications (an application to the Court that the proces...

We all agree that costs applications, and costs orders, are becoming more prevalent in Children Act as well as financial remedy proceedings.  Public policy certainly seems to favour the use of costs orders as a way of ensuring that litigation is proportionate and reasonable.      In this episode we are assisted by HHJ Reardon (who sits in East London Family Court and the CFC hearing both Children...

We could not have been more excited to have the opportunity to speak to Mr Justice Mostyn before he retires at the end of the month.     We discuss Movers & Shakers – his highly successful podcast with five other Parkinson’s sufferers:   https://cureparkinsons.org.uk/2023/03/movers-shakers-six-familiar-faces-launch-podcast-about-living-with-parkinsons/     Plus his best case, and thoughts on t...

In this episode we speak to two keen advocates known for their appellate work; Chris Barnes and Joe Rainer.  Chris speaks about appeals in Children Act work and Joe speaks to financial remedy appeals.   We discuss how to evaluate the type of decision – is it an evaluative or discretionary decision, or is it a finding of fact and how this impact on your likelihood of success.  This is the speech of...

In this episode we chat to Natasha Watson (Acting Head of Law at Brighton & Hove City Council),  Caroline Lynch (Principal Legal Advisor at Family Rights Group) and Hannah Markham KC (36 Family) who were all members of the Public Law Working Group which reported in March 2021: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/March-2021-report-final_clickable.pdf This is a wide-ranging discu...

In this episode we discuss the burgeoning jurisprudence around the impact of economic abuse on financial remedy cases with Olivia Piercy (Partner at Hunters Law) and Michael Horton KC (Coram Chambers).   Olivia and Michael discuss the following cases in the episode:     Traharne v Limb [2022] EWFC 27    DP v EP (Conduct: Economic Abuse; Needs) [2023] EWFC 6    DN V UD (Schedule 1, Children Act 198...

Listen to Natalie Gamble (a solicitor and the director of NGA law) and Andrew Powell (a barrister at 4PB) consider the current law in respect of surrogacy before the law commission releases their final report due in Spring 2023.    This is a wide-ranging discussion about the principles behind surrogacy, surrogates consent, and commercial surrogacy.  This is a really helpful episode if you have a c...

Listen to Michael Edwards (a barrister at 4PB), Amy Rowe (a partner at Dawson Cornwell) and Roz Osbourne (the Director of GlobalARRK which is a charity to support the stuck parent and children) discuss the law in respect of child abduction.  Amy and Michael take us through recent case law in respect of the defences to return orders under the Hague Convention 1980, and the use of inherent jurisdict...

Listen to Marcie Shaoul (The Co-Parent Way), Claire Colbert (Family Mediation and Mentoring) and Adèle Ballantyne (Eleda Consultancy Limited) from the Parenting After Parting Committee outline their Parenting Through Separation Guide.  This Guide is available to everyone for free at https://resolution.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Parenting-through-separation-guide.pdf , and is written for any...

Listen to Katharine Landells (solicitor at Withers), Antonia Mee (solicitor at Burgess Mee) and Sarah Phipps (barrister at QEB) make the case for private FDRs, explain the project to ensure that women are also being put forward as private FDR evaluators and discuss what is key to having a successful private FDR. Herewith the best practice guidelines about selecting your FDR evaluator from 5th Octo...

In this episode we are joined by  HHJ Roberts who is the Designated Family Judge at the Central Family Court, and the National Lead Judge for Divorce.  Before joining the Bench she was a solicitor, and ran the family department at her firm for 10 years, and HHJ Hess who is the Lead Judge of the London Financial Remedy Court, and the Deputy National Lead Judge of the Financial Remedies Court.  He i...

Listen to Andrzej Bojarski (family barrister) and James Brockhurst (private client lawyer) discuss crypto-assets, including what they are, essential terms, tracing, taxation and division.  This episode includes all the information required to understand this form of asset. 

The draft Finance Bill 2022-23 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-gains-tax-transfers-of-assets-between-spouses-and-civil-partners-in-the-process-of-separating , released on 20 July, goes much further than the OTS’ recommendations.  The headlines are as follows: No gain/no loss treatment extended to three years following the year of separation or date of decree absolute if earlier...

In this episode, host Simon Blain and Anita Mehta talk to Brie Stevens-Hoare QC and Charlotte John, both at Gatehouse Chambers, about the intersection between civil and family proceedings. In particular, they consider trusts of land and proprietary estoppel cases. Resources Pickering v Hughes & Ors [2021] EWHC 1672 (Ch) https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2021/1672.html More information Mo...

‘Finding the middle ground’ - in this episode Dr Mark Berelowitz (Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist) and Alex Verdan KC discuss how to manage parental alienation and high conflict cases.  With Resolutions thanks to Louise Tickle for a correction in the law from the first episode. 

In this episode, host Simon Blain talks to Rachel Spicer and James Pirrie about their approach to cases involving the Child Maintenance Service.  Jurisdiction of the CMS 1) Geography: The parent with care and child must be based in the United Kingdom – as must (with some extensions) the non-resident parent 2) Age and stage: Broadly, the CMS has jurisdiction until the 31st of August in the year tha...

Hosted by: Anita Mehta and Simon Blain. Guests:  Prof Jo Delahunty QC They discuss her work promoting diversity in the legal profession, her thoughts on the Court of Appeal case of Re H-N and on dealing with cases of abuse within the legal profession. Further information and resources https://www.gresham.ac.uk/professors-and-speakers/professor-jo-delahunty-qc https://bridgingthebar.org https://www...

Hosted by: Simon Blain. Guests:  Cris McCurley (Partner, Ben Hoare Bell) Pragna Patel (Southall Black Sisters and Women Against Fundamentalism) They discuss their hopes and concerns for the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 which received royal assent earlier this year. They also consider other developments such as the publication of the "Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Childre...

Hosted by: Anita Mehta and Simon Blain. Guests:  Paul Cobley (Oak Barn Financial Planning) George Mathieson (Mathieson Consulting) Rhys Taylor (The 36 Group) They discuss the work they are involved in to produce better guidance both for practitioners and the public on the issue of pensions on divorce. Further information and resources https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/project/pensions-on-divorce-...