Rotherham MBC v M, F & C [2025] EWFC 298 (B) HHJ Afzal CBE - Revocation of Placement Order - Role of IRO - Papers to OS, is one child entitled to compensation
Two things caused me to write this article concerning the case law report:
It contained no case law and
It is not a situation I see very often.
25th September 2020. C and...
London Borough of Barnet v DM, LT & TT (referred to as T, the child) 2025 EWFC 168
MacDonald J considers the welfare test - To adopt or not to adopt - that is the question. With the added bonus of reference to many cases on welfare and...
Re M (A Child) (Placement Order) [2025] EWCA Civ 214, International element - 26 week extension - how long is a piece of string? - reminder of no presumption in favour of parents
Held: the trial judge made a placement order, which was unsuccessfully appealed. The subject child (18 months) is referred to as M in the judgement, I shall call him Man,...
T (Children: Risk Assessment) [2025] EWCA Civ 93, 7.2.25. Court of Appeal indicating how risk assessment should be carried out and making strong additional comments
Background chronology concerning the 3 children who in August 2024 were aged 11 [C1] , 9 [C2] and 1 [C3]:
2016 Fact find hearing, CAO to F with SO
August 2019 F...
BM v AM & Ors [2024] EWFC 383 (B) (26 November 2024) HHJ Marin. Application by birth mother for leave to apply for direct contact with her child, who had been adopted
The judge recited quite a lot of law in his judgement, some of which is included in this article, but it makes the article longer than most soundbites. However it...
Supervision Order v No Order
Birmingham C C v S & L & 2 Children. DJ Parker 17.10.24
Although a DJ decision, it is illuminating on the approach as to whether an SO was necessary or not. ...
Care proceedings and recusal
In two care cases I have dealt with recently ‘recusal’ has cropped up.The first was at an IRH when a circuit judge gave ‘a very strong indication’ as they called...
Y V & B (Fact finding - perpetrator). Court of Appeal Civil Division - 13 September 2024. Asplin, Baker, Elisabeth Laing LLJ’s - Appeal by guardian in care proceedings against failure of judge to identify perpetrator of injuries to child
To précis anything is to give the tempting flavour, but deny you the full meal!
Flavour: In this case the Court of Appeal, examined the trial judges approach, to applying the...
Guidance on applications for cognitive/psychological assessments
West Northamptonshire Council v The Mother 2024 EWHC 395 ( Mercifully short judgement - 7 pages)
It would seem that Mrs Justice Lieven was looking for an opportunity to give guidance...
Williams v Williams [2023] EWHC 3098 (Fam) - Moor J - Financial Remedy - Hadkinson order - legal services funding order - brief report!
In financial remedy proceedings, the billionaire husband, took little part in the process, and when he did, he caused trouble. He filed no form E, applications were made for his...
Re JW [2023] EWCA Civ 944, 4.8.23 - Limitation of care orders whilst children living at home
This alert stems from relevance in a local case I was in recently dealing with care and supervision orders.
But in Re JW the President handed down a judgement in care...
Guest (A’s) v Guest (R) [2022] UKSC 27. Proprietary estoppel (PE). Bullet point law made simple!
A’s owned a farm. In 1981, their wills provided for their two sons to inherit the farm equally, subject to their daughter receiving 20% of their estate.
R, their eldest son...
XO v YO [2022] EWFC 114
Big money - long marriage - H not engaging much after forms E or in final hearing - Conduct - Adverse inference - H had pre-marital wealth.
As said before trying...
Goodyear (H) v Executors of the Estate of Heather Goodyear (deceased) (W) [2022]
In accordance with first tier judges publishing some of their case decisions, this decision by HHJ Farquhar is a useful guide in a lower asset case (although higher than many...
X v Y [2022] EWFC 95 (15 August 2022) HHJ Hess.
Adjournment of capital claims for 10 years. Discussion of principles. No assets.
H, 50 was an LIP, W was 40, and represented. It was a 20 year marriage that produced two...
IR v OR [2022] EWFC 20 - Pre-marital wealth, - validity of pre-nup - up to £184m assets - valuation of business.
The parties cohabited in 1996, married in 1997, separated in 2019. They had 5 children (now 9 to mid 20’s).
The parties entered into a prenup of which only a draft...
Gallagher v Gallagher [2022] EWFC 52 - Mostyn J’s guidance and views on reporting restrictions, indicating openness. (Plus EWFC 53 - premarital acquired assets, company valuation - linear approach)
This was a big money case, assets for distribution £35,456,884 and the financial hearing is reported separately at [2022] EWFC 53 (and see short note at end).
In EWFC 52 (reporting...
VV v VV 2022 EWFC 41 (13.5.22) Short childless marriage - cohabitation period - conduct/misconduct - needs
As I have said before, trying to squeeze an 11,431 word judgement into a useful bitesized article is like … well I’ll leave that to your imagination.
The relationship history was...
Traharne v Limb [2022] EWFC 27 (31 March 2022) - Post nup agreement (PNA)
Classed by the judge as ‘not a big money case’, the parties assets totalled over £4m. Big money for most of us I’d say !
Costs were in excess of £650,000,...
WC v HC [2022] EWFC 22 - Financial Remedy directions reminder from Peel J - concise expositions of law - departure from equality based on needs (22.3.22)
This case is of note because Peel J made some preliminary comments on preparation for trial, and then gave a good potted précis of the law in financial remedy proceedings.
In...
Maintenance pending suit, reminder of principles and Peel J, and amendment of standard orders
This article brings news that Peel J will be the national lead judge for the Financial Remedies Court and the judge-in-charge of standard family orders with effect from 26 April...
Loggie v Loggie [2022] EWFC 2 (27 January 2022) Experts fees - guidance from Mostyn J.
At this hearing the parties self represented, and when the full case report is read, most lawyers would successfully predict the outcome ! It was an indemnity application by W...
Crowther v Crowther (failure to disclose – conduct - unequal division of remaining assets ordered)
1 In proceedings where:-
W had filed 15 statements and H 26, and
there were one human third party respondent and four company respondents and
there had been injunction, preliminary issue hearings and...
Costs and needs based awards
This short article is to draw attention to recent cases where the court has considered the effect of the parties costs on a needs based award.
Three recent High Court cases...
JM v KK 6/9/21[5] - First instance financial remedy - foreign element - low value assets - high costs - departure from equality of both liquid assets and pension - pension treated separately - child maintenance dealt with.
The parties were married in one ceremony in India in February 2005 and one in England in April 2005; they separated after 14 years of marriage. They had one child...
E v L (2021) EWFC 63 Short childless marriage - Phase 2 - Costs - importance of being reasonable and making offers
This article follows on from the decision in phase 1 in which Mostyn J delayed deciding the question of costs for a few days (in the forlorn hoe the parties...
ND v GD 2021 EWFC 53 (14 June 2021) Peel J[2].
Inherited wealth by H during marriage - W with life shortening illness - clean break or not - needs.
This case attracted my attention because:-
of the succinct way that the judge...
Should nominal periodical payments be activated into substantial payments?
It is rare that a case is reported when the judge is a deputy district judge, and it is equally rare when a court considers whether a nominal periodical payments...
LM v DM [2021] EWFC 28
(Financial Remedy - Ruling on costs after contested hearing for maintenance pending suit, interim periodical payments for the children, (and for a legal services payment order - not relevant to...
AS V CS (Private FDR Guidance) 19th April 2021, Mostyn J.
Ordinarily, an application for financial remedy would proceed in accordance with FPR 9.15, in which the court would order an in-court FDR pursuant to FPR 9.15(4), and that fixture could...
A v R [2020] EWHC 3729 (Fam) - Procedure for decree nisi, and effect on subsequent financial remedy order - when is a decree nisi not a decree nisi? - when is a final financial order not a final order?
This article is concerned with W applying for a declaration under the court's inherent jurisdiction that a decree nisi was granted on 25 January 2019 and that the same should...
Villiers v Villiers [2021] EWFC 23 - s27 MCA - Mostyn J’s interpretation.
Many of Mostyn J’s judgements make valuable reading for the use of some English word that one didn’t know existed or had long forgotten, or contains a reference to a...
Kicinki v Pardi [2021] EWHC 499 (Fam) Thwaite jurisdiction - executory order - revisiting a final financial order - giving indemnity on behalf of non-parties.
1. Case alert, case alert ! All that these short articles can do is alert you to a topic in a case. A full exploration cannot be undertaken, and a...
Hussain [2021] EWFC 13 : Notice of appeal filed 14 months after final financial order - leave to appeal granted
HHJ Hess made a final financial remedy order in January 2018. H did not file a form E and played no part in proceedings. The court therefore relied on the...
AZ v FM [2021] EWFC 2 - Capitalisation of Child Maintenance, standard or indemnity costs.
This short article deals mainly with capitalisation of child maintenance (commutation), but other topics are dealt with in the judgement see footnote[1] below.
The parties had been married for 15 years. ...
WX v HX [2021] ( Matrimonial & non matrimonial property - valuation date, sharing and needs)
Trying to compress a 29,000 word[1] judgement into a soundbite article is like … well, I’ll leave you to fill in the blanks lol.
This was a long marriage (33 years)...
Covid and Barder : FRB v DCA (No 2) [2020]
FRB v DCA (No 2) [2020] EWHC 754 (Fam), Covid and Barder, variation of lump sum by instalments, interest, costs.
Following a final order, there are very narrow grounds upon which...
Derhalli v Derhalli [2021] EWCA Civ 112 - occupation rent pending sale of the marital home?
The Family court made a consent final order (28/9/16) in financial remedy proceedings, providing for the sale of the marital home in H’s sole name, which the parties expected to...
Crowther v Crowther [2020] EWHC 3555 (Fam) - Indemnity costs
I have had to simplify the facts to present a short article.
W made an application for financial remedy. The parties ran a shipping business. There has already been one reported...
CB v EB [2020] EWFC 72 Mostyn J : Financial Remedy - Scope of s31(F)6 Matrimonial and Family Act 1984 & FPR PD9A - Varying, setting aside final financial remedy orders.
In this case Mostyn J robustly clarifies an area of law that had become bogged down and confusing for many years.
The brief facts are the court made a financial remedy...
Financial Remedy :Litigation conduct by H, failure to negotiate reasonably by W, leading to cross costs orders (OG v AG 2020 EWFC 52)
This was a 25 year marriage with two children. The assets totalled £16m, and the costs were in excess of £1m. W raised conduct against H, in particular non disclosure...
Negligence and Limitation in financial Remedy
This negligence case investigates limitation in financial remedy proceedings, with W complaining about her solicitors (the ‘firm’) negligence.
The district judge decided that W’s claim against the ‘firm’:
so far as...
Updated: Practice Direction on Committal for Contempt of Court in Open Court
The Lord Chief Justice has issued an updated Practice Direction on committal for contempt of court in open court. Except in relation to proceedings for contempt of court...
Decisions on Pensions in financial remedies cases: Wait for one and three come along at once
There have been three recent cases on the treatment of pensions in financial remedy cases; one decided by HHJ Hess and two by HHJ Robinson. Although not Court of Appeal,...
Financial Remedies Courts: Structure document and Good Practice Protocol
An Overall Structure of the Financial Remedies Courts and the Role and Function of the Lead Judge was published for the Financial Remedies Courts (FRCs) together with an accompanying Good...
A (short) Guide to the Treatment of Pensions on Divorce The Report of the Pension Advisory Group (PAG) July 2019
The information below is meant as a list of chapters and contents, to give a flavour of the report (as attached ) in case it has not yet been read. ...
Case study : Order for lump sum -v- undertaking to pay a lump sum
1. a. MCA s23 (1) (c) states the court may make:- ‘an order that either party to the marriage shall pay to the other such lump sum or sums as may...
STOP PRESS : Does Boris need a non-cohabitation agreement
In a land of black BMW’s, dark suits, and the odd shock of blond Old Etonian hair … was a lad called Boris. Separated from Marina, but not divorced, cohabiting...
Stop Press :Simplistic Pensions Overview.
In trying to make a topic simple but informative, some detail is necessarily lost. And remember, in law, there is the general rule, and then there are always exceptions to...
Stop Press :Simplistic Pensions Overview.
In trying to make a topic simple but informative, some detail is necessarily lost. And remember, in law, there is the general rule, and then there are always exceptions to...
NEWS FLASH : Disclosure in the Family court
Further to my recent short article re slow disclosure of medical records under DPA/GDPR, the provisions of s31G of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 are also of relevance...
News Flash :Slow disclosure of medical records under DPA /GDPR
In a recent care case, medical records of one of a later joined party was requested from her GP by the her solicitor with appropriate authority. The GP replied that...
