Family Law Cafe - This Week's Newsletter 04.03.2024
Joanna Toch
Share your story | Know your present | Build your future Your Go-to Family Law Resource. Talk to us! 02039 040506 or [email protected]
Here is this week's family law round-up.
Husband’s ‘Scorched Earth’ Divorce Tactics Leave Family in Financial Ruin
A Judge has strongly condemned a husband’s reckless and destructive behaviour during divorce proceedings, describing it as some of the worst he has seen in years.?
When the couple separated in 2021/2022, they had ￡80,000 in savings from the sale of their family home and a thriving business with an annual turnover of over ￡350,000. However, by the time the wife’s financial claims reached court in December 2023, their finances had been decimated. The husband, driven by a desire to ensure his wife “got nothing,” followed through on his threats to ruin the company, leaving both parties in financial ruin. The business was liquidated, their savings were gone, and each was left with ￡20,000 in credit card debt, plus additional personal liabilities from business guarantees. To make matters worse, legal fees had already amounted to ￡70,000, and there were ongoing child arrangement proceedings.
Given the circumstances, the Court ruled in favour of the wife. She was awarded the only remaining significant asset—a piece of land worth ￡70,000—along with 100% of the husband’s pension and ￡1,500 per month in spousal maintenance until their youngest child turns 21 or completes university. The Judge also granted her the right to pursue further financial claims against the husband for the next five years.?
This case serves as a stark reminder of how self-destructive behaviour in divorce can lead to devastating financial consequences and why a more measured approach is crucial.
Senior judge warns against unlawful surrogacies after women ‘exploited’
Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the High Court's family division, has cautioned against engaging in unlawful surrogacy arrangements abroad. This follows a case where two women in their 60s paid approximately ￡120,000 to a clinic in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus—a region unrecognised?by the UK and where surrogacy is illegal. The Judge highlighted that both the commissioning parents and the Ukrainian surrogates were exploited for commercial gain, urging others to reconsider pursuing similar paths.
Full story: Care Appointments.
Government to consult on cohabitation reform
Reform of the law on cohabitation could come sooner than expected after the government confirmed it will consult on the issue this year. Full story: Law Society Gazette.
Law firm ordered to pay wasted costs after failing to instruct counsel
A law firm was negligent in failing to prepare for a three-day hearing or instruct counsel for it, a Family Court judge has ruled in making a wasted costs order. Full story: Legal Futures.
Mother seeks court's permission to 'tell her story' in legal first
A mother whose rape allegation was wrongly dismissed is asking the High Court for permission to speak out about her case. Full story: Law Society Gazette.
Lady chief justice rues crumbling courts estate
No tap water, ramshackle roofing and insect infestations that required so much pesticide a courtroom was ‘unsafe to sit in’. These are just some of the issues plaguing courts infrastructure, the lady chief justice reflected during her annual press conference last week. Full story: Law Society Gazette.
Domestic abuse 999 pilot launched after murders
Domestic abuse specialists are to be embedded in the 999 control rooms of five police forces with the aim of providing better support for victims. Full story: BBC News.
Teenager taken to West African country ‘would rather live in UK foster care’
A teenager who was taken to a West African country and left behind by his parents would rather live in UK foster care than stay “alone like this”, the High Court has been told. Full story: Care Appointments.
??? Our Latest Podcast Episode: Breaking Free - How Coaching Can Transform Your Divorce Journey ??
In this insightful episode, Joanna Toch speaks with Louize Yafai, a breakup, divorce, and domestic abuse coach. Louize shares her personal journey through an acrimonious divorce and how it inspired her to become a coach. She discusses the emotional rollercoaster of divorce, strategies for emotional regulation, the importance of taking control, and how coaching can complement legal advice. The conversation also touches on financial abuse, co-parenting, boundary setting, and rebuilding confidence post-divorce.
???Watch now and let us know what you think, and stay tuned for more great episodes!
?? Our next webinar series:?I’m Not Married! Property Claims & Children’s Finances!
?? Friday, 14th March 2025 | ? 12:30 PM??
Separating when you're not married? You may have more rights than you realise. Do not miss this next exciting feature of the Family Law Cafe Webinar series.?Register today!
Divorce Finances:?Court Exposes A?Sham Tenancy in Property Dispute
The Court ruled that a supposed Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) was a sham designed to block the sale of a Cotswolds property in a divorce finances?dispute. The lease, granted to a company, was legally invalid and lacked credible evidence of execution. The Court ultimately?set aside the lease, allowing enforcement of the financial remedy order.
Collardeau v Fuchs & Anor [2025] EWFC 36 (19 February 2025): Bailii.
Child Abduction
??Application by father for return of children to Nigeria. Judgment making wasted costs order against mother's solicitors, for failing to prepare for hearing. A Father v A Mother [2025] EWHC 364 (Fam) (20 February 2025): National Archives.
??Application by father for summary return of children to the UAE. Application refused, following finding that it was in the children's best interests to remain in England. AA and BB (Children: Return Order: Dubai), Re [2025] EWHC 358 (Fam) (14 February 2025): Bailii.
??Application by mother who wrongly removed child to Northern Cyprus in 2021, seeking finding that the court did not have jurisdiction to make orders in relation to the child. Held that the court does have jurisdiction. CX (Jurisdiction: Wrongful Removal to Northern Cyprus) [2025] EWFC 27 (18 February 2025): Bailii.
Child Arrangements
??Child arrangements proceedings, where the child was living with the mother in Scotland, and the father sought orders that he be returned to Northamptonshire and live with him. Ordered that child return and live with father. F v M [2025] EWFC 31 (B) (15 January 2025): Bailii.
??Application by father for various orders relating to children brought to this country from Uganda by the mother. Father granted contact, but his application to remove children temporarily from jurisdiction dismissed. E, Z, D, V (Welfare), Re [2025] EWHC 378 (Fam) (21 February 2025): National Archives.
Children Care Cases
??Care proceedings, issued following concerns about mother's parenting. Ordered that child live with father, and for father to be permitted to relocate her to his home country. Oxfordshire County Council v M & Ors [2025] EWFC 34 (B) (21 February 2025): Bailii.
??Fact-finding in public law proceedings, regarding allegations of abuse by the father. Found that he had seriously abused the mother, including engaging in coercive and/or controlling behaviour over a period from 2023 (at the latest) to 30 July 2024. CA, CB and CC (Fact Finding: Coercion and Sexual Abuse) [2025] EWFC 29 (B) (14 February 2025): Bailii.
??Appeal by mother against care order placing child with maternal grandparents, the central issue being whether the mother can protect the child against the father, a convicted sex offender. Appeal allowed. M (Care Order: Risk: Family Placement), Re [2025] EWCA Civ 163 (21 February 2025): National Archives.
??Application by mother to discharge care orders in relation to her 2 children, to enable them to return to live with her. Application refused. S and P (Discharge of Care Order), Re [2025] EWFC 30 (B) (20 February 2025): Bailii.
Divorce Finances
??Final financial remedies hearing, where the parties had reached agreement in 2022, but had failed to obtain a consent order. Order made, and husband ordered to pay ￡20,000 towards the wife's costs, as he had been responsible for the majority of the additional costs incurred. Grace v Grace [2025] EWFC 37 (B) (10 January 2025): Bailii.
??Application by wife for maintenance pending suit. Husband ordered to pay ￡29,750 per month. SM v BA (No 2: Maintenance Pending Suit) [2025] EWFC 28 (19 February 2025): National Archives.
Surrogacy
Applications to adopt two children born following commercial foreign surrogacy arrangement. Adoption orders made. Judgment includes comment by President regarding such surrogacy arrangements. Z (Unlawful Foreign Surrogacy: Adoption) [2025] EWHC 339 (Fam) (19 February 2025): Bailii.