Personal Law

Christmas and other holiday periods should be among the happiest times of a child’s life but sadly they are often marred by divorced and separated parents arguing over access rights.  Shannon Bateson, Solicitor in our family law team reports on this recent case. Tensions between couples often come to the fore at this time of year but it’s the children who are likely to suffer the most as they find themselves at…

Pregnant women and new parents will receive greater protection from redundancy under new legislation currently going through parliament.  Joanne Stronach Director and Head of Employment & HR reports on this recent case. Under current rules, before offering redundancy to an employee on maternity leave, shared parental leave or adoption leave, employers have an obligation to offer them a suitable alternative vacancy where one exists.  The Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination Bill, introduced…

A 12-year-old boy has been granted £50,000 from his late aunt’s estate on the basis that he had been treated as a child of the family.  Rebecca Armstrong Associate Solicitor in our Will Claims team reports on this recent case. The boy was taken in by his aunt shortly after his birth because his mother was unable to care for him herself.   The aunt acted as the boy’s main parental figure until her…

The number of divorce applications has reached a 10-year high, with the sudden increase thought to be largely due to the introduction of the no-fault approach to ending a marriage. Sarah Hinett, Paralegal in our Family Law Team reports. The figures for April to June 2022 show there were 33,234 applications, the highest number for a decade.  Analysts suggest the increase is down to people holding off making applications until…

A LANDMARK legal ruling could have far reaching implications in disputes over the future of family farms. Rebecca Armstrong, a Contentious Trust and Probate Specialist with Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors, said the judgment by the Supreme Court on Wednesday (October 19) would impact farming families who find themselves in legal battles over who will inherit the farm. Rebecca said: “The ruling was unusual in that it offered the parties a choice…

The Family Court has ruled on a dispute over whether a couple’s divorce settlement should take into account potential future payments and inheritance from the husband’s father.    Julian Nelson, Director in our Family Law Team reports on this recent case. The case involved a couple who had met in 2001 and married in 2004.        The husband was from a very wealthy family. The couple entered into a pre-marital agreement, as required by the…

A worker who lost her job while positive for Covid-19 and then went on to be diagnosed with long Covid has lost her disability discrimination claim.  Jennifer Cafferky Solicitor in our employment team, reports on this recent case. Ms Quinn worked as ‘Head of People’ for Sense Scotland from 9 December 2019.  On 11 July 2021 she tested positive for Covid and was dismissed from her role on 27 July 2021. …

To enforce an order from a French court to relocate a five-year-old girl from her mother in England to live with her father in France would be draconian, the English Court of Appeal has ruled. Amy Fallows Senior Associate Solicitor & Head of our family law team reports. The girl was born in France in 2016; two years later her mother and father separated.  In February 2019, the French High Court gave the mother…

Three siblings have failed to overturn their stepmother’s will after she left everything to her biological son.  Rebecca Armstrong Associate Solicitor in our Will Claims team reports on this recent case. The son claimed that his mother had changed the will after the siblings’ father died so that he could look after her parrot.  The case involved 61-year-old Ian McLean and his siblings Sean and Lorraine, and their half-brother, a self-titled “Lord” Brett…

The Court of Appeal has ruled that a clause in a worker’s contract entitling him to a 5% rise in sick pay each year should be applied even though his employers amended their policy two years after his employment began. Joanne Stronach Director and Head of Employment & HR reports on this recent case. Joel Langton worked for Amdocs Systems Groups Ltd from 2003.  His contract included Clause 6, which entitled…