16.07.2024 - Here is this week's family law round-up
Joanna Toch
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Here is this week's family law round-up.
News Stories
Has it just got harder to obtain a litigation loan?
Financing legal representation can often be a major issue for a party involved in divorce settlement proceedings.?One way to do so is via a litigation lender, who will lend the party the money to pay for their representation, on the basis that they recover the loan plus interest from the settlement monies that the party receives.?
But obtaining a litigation loan may have just gotten harder, following the latest, and perhaps last, judgment in a long-running case.
The case began in 2016, when the wife issued her financial remedies application and?entered into an agreement with a litigation lender to fund these proceedings. In 2021, the parties agreed a settlement whereby the wife was to receive no capital or income in settlement of her claim, and given that she had no capital of her own, it followed that she would have no funds with which to repay any part of the loan. The agreement was subsequently incorporated into a consent order, which the lender successfully applied to set aside.
The proceedings went back before the court,?however, neither the wife nor the husband sought any orders from the court. In these circumstances, Mr Justice Peel made no order, on the basis that the wife would withdraw her application. Thus the wife has still not received a financial settlement from which the litigation lender can recover their loan.
As Mr Justice Peel pointed out at the end of his judgment, the litigation lender does have a civil claim against the wife, which now stands at some ￡1.2 million including interest, but whether it will succeed in recovering that sum, or any significant part of it, must be in doubt.
Recently Reported Stories
Thousands of children 'trapped' in family justice system
The Law Society is urging the next government to restore legal aid for early advice after latest government figures showed 27,445 more children were trapped in limbo in the family justice system at the start of this year.?
Restoring legal aid for early advice in family matters would mean more families could resolve their matters outside the courts and those who still need to go to court would be better prepared for what will happen there.
Full story: Law Society Gazette.
Litigation funder stymied as divorcing couple drop proceedings
Financial remedy proceedings to which the Court of Appeal said a litigation funder could be a party so as to protect the ￡1m it was owed by the wife have now been dropped with the money still owing. Full story: Legal Futures.
Shabana Mahmood appointed Lord Chancellor and justice secretary in Starmer cabinet
Birmingham MP and former practising barrister Shabana Mahmood has been named as Lord Chancellor and secretary of state for justice in the new Labour government. Full story: Law Society Gazette.
High Court finds LA can consent to deprivation of child’s liberty without DoLs order
The High Court has concluded that a Local Authority, which holds parental responsibility for a child under the age of 16, has the power to consent to the deprivation of his liberty. Full story: Local Government Lawyer.
Father jailed after attack on Family Court Judge during proceedings in Milton Keynes
A father who attacked a family court judge in Milton Keynes County Court during a hearing has been sentenced to three years in prison. Full story: Local Government Lawyer.
Recently Reported Cases
Featured?Case
Judgment in financial remedy proceedings, to determine wife's claim that she and the husband had an interest in two properties, rather than the husband's family. It was held that they did not have interest, and therefore, the properties would not be subject to the financial remedy proceedings of the divorce.?
P v Q, R and S (Claim against Assets of Extended Family) [2024] EWFC 164 (B) (19 June 2024): Bailii.
Child Abduction
? Application by mother for summary return of child to Ukraine. Father's defences of habitual residence, acquiescence and harm not made out, and return ordered. M v F [2024] EWHC 1689 (Fam) (01 July 2024): Bailii.
领英推荐
Child Arrangements
? Application by father for contact with two children. Indirect contact only ordered, in the light in particular of the father's history of harassment and abuse. Barring order also made. B and K, Re (Children: Contact: Section 91(14) Orders) [2024] EWFC 167 (24 May 2024): Bailii.
? Dispute resolution appointment in child arrangements proceedings, where findings of coercive controlling behaviour had been made against the father. Ordered that children live with mother and have indirect contact only with father. GB (Parental Alienation: Welfare), Re [2024] EWFC 168 (B) (24 May 2024): Bailii.
Divorce
? Judgment concerning validity of Pakistani divorce obtained by husband. Held that the divorce was valid, and should be recognised. TI v LI [2024] EWFC 163 (B) (21 June 2024): Bailii.
Divorce Finances
? Appeal by husband against orders relating to the payment of costs orders made against the wife in financial remedy proceedings, in particular as to the rate of payment by instalments. Instalments increased from ￡50pcm to ￡700pcm. AB v BA [2024] EWHC 1179 (Fam) (05 March 2024): Bailii.
? Wife's application for maintenance pending suit and a legal services payment order. Husband ordered to pay LSPO totalling ￡736,500, plus ￡2,200,000pa MPS, and various expenses. KV v KV [2024] EWFC 165 (03 July 2024): Bailii.
Children Care Cases
? Application asking the court to request the Secretary of State for the Home Department to grant British citizenship to a child who was placed with her maternal aunt under a special guardianship order in 2022. Application dismissed. Y (Failure to Clarify Immigration Status), Re [2024] EWFC 159 (01 July 2024): Bailii.
? Final hearing in care proceedings, in which the issue was whether to place the child for adoption or with the paternal grandmother. Child placed for adoption. E (a child) (Care and Placement Orders), Re [2024] EWFC 170 (B) (4 July 2024): National Archives.
"How to Start my Divorce" Explained
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Season Two of the Family Law Cafe Podcast?Coming - September 2024
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We're excited to announce that Season Two will premiere on Thursday, 12 September 2024. Expect even more fantastic guests, deeper insights, and practical advice to help you navigate your family law matters. Stay tuned, and thank you for being part of our journey!
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