Sally Ward

Restrictions continue to be eased as the UK gets further past the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic. Some people in England are now be able to form a "support bubble, but what does this mean for Family Law? Unmarried couples and the...

Since the covid-19 pandemic broke earlier this year, the number of virtual hearings held in England and Wales has increased five-fold. Some family law practitioners are saying video and phone calls are not suitable for some sensitive cases. Charitable...

Mixed-sex couples can now become civil partners. Previously, the law only allowed same-sex couples to be civil partners. Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan, who won a legal battle for the right to heterosexual civil partnerships, were among the first...

Going through a divorce or separation is difficult. Emotions are high and even if two people agree, the changes can be overwhelming and stressful. All too often it is tempting to get into tit for tat arguments that lead nowhere. So why not make a few...

The record breaking divorce settlement.. The world's richest man, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and his wife MacKenzie have agreed a record-breaking divorce settlement of at least $35bn (£27bn). The divorce deal dwarfs a previous $3.8bn record set in...

Nearly two years after the government pledged to end the cross-examination of domestic violence victims by their alleged abusive ex-partners in the family courts, it has finally unveiled a draft bill to end the controversial practice. The landmark bill will...

Gepp's family lawyers are supporting Resolution's campaign for a change in the law to reduce the fallout from divorce on children, after figures released today revealed the impact of conflict between separating parents. In a new poll, 79% of the...

Before the introduction of civil partnerships and same sex marriages, it used to be the case that same sex couples were discriminated against by not being able to obtain legal recognition of their relationship their relationship in any way. Since...

What proposals is the government's consultation on divorce law reform likely to include? A new process to remove need for couples to have been separated or to allege ‘fault’ in order to obtain divorce...

In my blog of 26 July 2018, I reported on calls for a reform of divorce law after Mrs Owens was forced to remain in a marriage that was not working because the grounds, that she was unhappy, were insufficient for a divorce in England and Wales. ...

A survey of 11,000 children found 22% of the girls and 9% of the boys said they had hurt themselves on purpose in the year prior to the questionnaire. The self-harm statistics are included in The Children's Society's annual Good Childhood Report,...

Tini Owens (66) petitioned for divorce from her husband on the grounds that her husband had behaved unreasonable and the 40-year marriage had broken down irretrievably. Unusually, the petition was defended by her husband Hugh (78) and the divorce was denied....

The Family Court judges have a new leader from 18th July 2018. Sir Andrew McFarlane is the new President, ie the leading judge for all family courts. When Sir Andrew was a barrister, his specialism was the law relating to children. For more than 7...

When couples break up either one can be 100% liable for money owed on a joint account After Jennifer Davis ( not her real name ) tried to shut down the joint account she shared with her former partner, she got a nasty surprise. Her other half had taken out...

Plans are afoot for heterosexual couples to be given the right to enter into civil partnerships after the biggest shakeup of marriage laws since the 1800s. The home office said it would review the operation of civil partnerships – which are currently...

In any separation or divorce the emotional upheaval can be stressful to deal with, but so too can the financial implications. If couples are unable to agree to an amicable separation or divorce and the process goes all the way to a contested court hearing,...

How to make your children's Christmas special Start the conversation about Christmas with your children's other parent as early as possible so that you have plenty of time to agree arrangements and tell the children,...

It’s no secret that divorce can be one of the most stressful events a person goes through in life. Unfortunately when children are involved things can be doubly challenging. The co-parenting process can be tricky to master at first, but here are 5 top...

Few of us could have failed to share the pain of Charlie Gard's parents who recently made the difficult decision to allow their son to die. But this decision came following a series of court hearings when they challenged the hospitals recommendation to...

Around 230,000.00 people are going through a divorce every year in England and Wales and almost half of the break ups have at least one child under 16 in the relationship. This therefore meant that tens of thousands of children see their parents separate and...