Government urged to provide better protection for cohabiting couples
September 8th 2022The government is being urged to introduce reforms to provide better legal protection for cohabiting couples if their relationship breaks down. Amy Fallows Senior Associate Solicitor & Head of our family law team reports. The number of cohabiting couples has more than doubled in the past generation with 1.5m in 1996, compared to 3.6m in 2021. Do cohabiting couples have rights The House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee says there is a…
Court rules it’s unsafe to return child to violent father
June 6th 2022The High Court has ruled that a nine-year-old girl should be allowed to stay with her mother and not be returned to her violent father. Amy Fallows Senior Associate Solicitor & Head of our family law team reports on this recent case. The mother alleged that the relationship was significantly blighted by physical, emotional and sexual domestic abuse. The case involved a couple who had lived together with their daughter in…
Woman can have biological father named on birth certificate
March 24th 2022A woman has been granted the right to amend her birth certificate so that her biological father’s name appears instead of her mother’s husband at the time. Amy Fallows Senior Associate Solicitor & Head of our family law team reports on this recent case. The woman applied for a declaration of parentage under the Family Law Act 1986. She was born in England in 1960. Her mother was from an Orthodox Jewish…
Law firm invests in its staff with raft of promotions to key positions
April 21st 2021A LEADING legal firm has recognised the achievements of its team by promoting several members of staff to key positions. Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors has made the appointments as part of its expansion plans which have continued throughout the pandemic. The 11 internal promotions include the appointment of Katherine Pretswell-Walker to the firm’s board of directors. Six new Senior Associates have also been created, along with four Associate Solicitors. Peter Stafford,…
Divorcing wife ‘wrong to access husband’s private information’
April 12th 2021Many clients don’t realise that there are significant restrictions on what information they should be accessing in relation to their spouse’s finances. Indeed, some anticipate that you will want them to have done some ‘digging’. In fact, the opposite is true. A recent case highlights the difficulties which develop if one party takes the search for financial information into their own hands. Amy Fallows Senior Associate Solicitor & Head of…
Divorced couple in dispute over share of wife’s £2m pension fund …
March 10th 2021A wife has lost her appeal to reduce the amount her husband should be awarded from her pension fund as part of their divorce settlement. For many clients retaining their pension pot is very important. This is a good reminder that the sharing principle is firmly applied to pension accrued during the marriage. Amy Fallows, Head of Family Law reports on this recent case. The husband and wife, who were…
Child arrangements for separated parents in lockdown
February 2nd 2021There are so many pressures on parents just now. Home-school projects, internet speeds and on-line lessons all add to the stress of working parents. For many of us, ‘survival’ is the main aim of the game. By Amy Fallows Head of our Family law team. If you add tension between separated parents to the mix, it is easy to see why child arrangements might break down in lockdown. The government has…
Lockdown takes its toll on relationships as couples opt to split
July 1st 2020AS lockdown eases the true impact the three-month confinement has had on personal relationships and family life in the UK is starting to emerge. Amy Fallows Associate Solicitor specialising in family law with leading legal firm Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors, has seen a surge in cases from cohabiting and married couples wanting to split. Amy, who is also a part-time Deputy District Judge in the county court and family court, says…
No-Fault Divorce is nearly here!
June 18th 2020Amy Fallows Associate Solicitor in our Family law team provides update. The moment many separated couples have been waiting for is nearly here… the true ‘quickie divorce’. A law should be passed by Parliament in the next few days which will allow couples to divorce if they wish. Currently one spouse has to cite unreasonable behaviour or adultery if they want to divorce straight away. Many instead opt to wait…
Child arrangements during Covid-19
May 26th 2020Amy Fallows Associate Solicitor in our Family Law team provides some helpful advice. The lockdown has challenged many parents. Home schooling and home working are difficult to combine successfully. Not least for separating parents who are already balancing childcare between two homes. The government made it clear: Children can pass between parents despite the current restrictions. It is equally clear that younger children are least vulnerable to Covid-19. However, it…
