The Welfare Principle is an important concept in family law that states a child’s welfare is the paramount consideration. It applies to any decision by a Court concerning a child.
In that decision, the child’s welfare and best interests must take priority over all other factors in decision-making and outcomes.
The term “welfare” includes physical and emotional well-being, happiness, moral and religious welfare, comfort, emotional ties, and security.
They don’t!
There is no time limit for making financial claims after divorce, and claims DO NOT expire automatically. Unless you obtain a legally binding financial order, a former spouse who has not remarried, can make a financial claim against their ex, years or even decades after the divorce has been finalised.
Divorce alone does not end financial obligations between former spouses.
To achieve financial closure, couples should seek to incorporate any financial agreement into a court-approved consent order, or allow the Court to decide the financial settlement.
There is no strict legal timeframe for keeping your ex’s belongings, but a reasonable period is between 28 to 56 days.
You should request your ex in writing to collect their belongings within a specific deadline. It is a good idea to provide them with a detailed list of the items you wish them to collect, and photographs of any valuable items.
If your ex fails to respond or collect their items, you can assume they have been abandoned. However, it’s best to wait an additional few more weeks before selling, or discarding items of no value.
If you sell any items of value after your ex has abandoned them, the proceeds of sale belong to your ex, not you. Keep records of the sale and offer them the proceeds, less all the expenses you incur.
Prenuptial agreements do not automatically expire and typically remain valid for the duration of a marriage. The only exception would be if there was an end date mentioned in the agreement, or specific clauses or events which would cause it to expire, such as the birth of a child, or failure to carry out regular reviews.
Whilst Prenuptial agreements do not have a built-in expiration date, it is best to avoid having a static old Prenup.
The best practice is to review and update an agreement to ensure they remain current, relevant, and fair.
Child support is designed to ensure that both parents contribute financially to support their child’s upbringing, even if their relationship has ended.
Child support payments are intended to cover the everyday living expenses of a child. These expenses typically include: food, housing, clothing, childcare, educational expenses, and transport.
The contribution of child maintenance supports the parent with primary care to meet the child’s daily needs and expenses.
The primary carer of the child has the discretion to decide how those funds are used.
A Memorandum of Understanding is a written document that outlines the agreements reached by parties during the mediation process. This can be concerning a dispute relating to a child, or the settlement of financial matters on divorce.
A Memorandum of Understanding is not a legally binding document. The parties must still seek legal advice on the terms of the agreement, and have the agreement reached incorporated into a legal document, such as a Consent Order.
A Memorandum of Understanding is an important document. It shows a commitment between the parties, and is the first step to creating a legally binding agreement.
During financial negotiations both parties are expected to provide full and frank disclosure. Hiding assets can have the following consequences.
Courts have the power to revisit and set aside financial agreements if hidden assets are discovered later.
Hiding assets can result in contempt of court proceedings which can potentially lead to fines or imprisonment.
Courts have the power to make adverse inferences if assets are not disclosed. This can result in a potentially worse financial outcome for the concealer.
A Court can also penalise a party who hides assets by making them pay the other party’s costs.
A Relocation Order is a decision made by the Family Court that either allows or prevents a parent from moving with a child to usually a different country.
The issue of Relocation Orders can be especially challenging as any move is likely to disrupt the time a child spends with the other parent, and affect their relationship.
A wish to relocate by one parent following a separation or divorce is not uncommon. The reasons can be varied such as a wish to return to their home country and be closer to family, or relocation due to a new job.
To succeed with an application to relocate, a Court must be convinced that the move is in the child’s best interests and positively benefits the child. It should also ensure any relocation maintains relations with the non-relocating parent.
Getting divorced when you have lost contact with a spouse can be tricky, but not impossible. These are some of the additional steps you would need to take to try to serve a copy of your divorce application before a divorce can proceed.
Instruct an Enquiry Agent to trace your spouse. Some Enquiry Agents offer a tracing service on a “No find, no fee basis”.
If you have an alternative address for your spouse such as a work address, professional organisation, or the address of a relative, you can apply to the Court for substituted service by having the divorce papers served at one of these addresses instead.
Apply for a HMRC Disclosure Order – If the last option is unsuccessful or not possible, you can ask HMRC to locate an address for your spouse. If an address is found – the divorce papers can be served at that address.
As a last resort you could apply to dispense with service. If all reasonable efforts to locate your spouse are exhausted and unsuccessful; the Court can dispense with service of the divorce application, and the divorce can proceed.
An invisible divorce, also known as a silent divorce, occurs when a married couple remains legally married but has effectively ended their emotional and often physical relationship.
With an invisible divorce, spouses continue living together, but act more like house mates rather than a united couple. They spend little time together and engage in their own activities, hobbies, and social circles.
Invisible divorces often maintain the appearance of a marriage from the outside, but in reality the couple are emotionally and psychologically separated and disconnected.