Many families are now well underway or have already agreed arrangements for their children over the festive period. However, what should be a joyful and child focused time can become fraught, particularly when family members are unable to agree arrangements for their children.

With high mortgage interest rates affecting affordability, it is no surprise that more and more couples are buying a house together in a bid to get themselves on to the property ladder.

Cohabiting couples are now the fastest growing family type in the UK, but the law doesn’t recognise these families in the same way as married couple or civil partners.

Anyone can suffer domestic abuse regardless of age, sex, race, ethic or religious group. The 25th November 2023 marks the beginning of an initiative across the world calling for additional funding to help prevent violence against women.

Today is Universal Children's Day, otherwise known as ‘World Children's Day.’ It is also UNICEF's day of action to stand up for the rights of children worldwide and on this day 34 years ago the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was adopted.

The term ‘custody’ is a very outdated legal term and is no longer used to describe the care arrangements for a child.

Debts are often a fabric of everyday life; they enable individuals and couples to purchase a property or a car and can form part of day to day spending. When it comes to addressing the finances on divorce both parties’ debts, whether jointly or solely incurred, are taken into consideration.

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) can be put into place by a donor (the person appointing the LPA) at any stage of their life and it allows the LPA to make decisions about both the donors property and financial affairs should they lose the mental capacity to make those decisions themselves.

With the advent of ‘no-fault divorce’ in 2022, many couples are now able to focus on the practicalities and financial arrangements post-separation, rather than get tied up in lengthy arguments about whose fault the relationship breakdown ultimately was. This has led to a rise in the number couples approaching solicitors when they have either reached an agreement, or are very close to doing so.

Grandparents are often an integral part to the day to day running of a family, whether that be providing help/childcare or assisting in everyday activities.

Occasionally, issues can arise where one party refuses to comply with the terms of a Financial Order. If this happens you will need to consider the various enforcement options available to you.

Testing is usually required when there is a concern about a party in court proceedings taking illicit substances or consuming alcohol, which in turn could be having an effect on their abilities as a parent and the care they are able to provide for a child.