Category: custody

Surge in parents forced to fight child custody battles with no legal representation – The Independent

Posted February 5th, 2019 in budgets, children, custody, families, legal aid, litigants in person, news, statistics by tracey

‘The number of parents forced to represent themselves in child custody battles at family courts has more than doubled in six years in the wake of legal aid cuts. Campaigners have warned “huge injustices” are taking place and children’s best interests are being “obscured”. Government data revealed 23,881 parents who applied to open private law cases for child arrangements in 2017 had no legal representation – up 134 per cent since 2011.’

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The Independent, 4th February 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Metropolitan Police strip-searching children in cases ‘not properly justified’, inspection findsMetropolitan Police strip-searching children in cases ‘not properly justified’, inspection finds – The Independent

Posted January 17th, 2019 in children, custody, news, ombudsmen, police, proportionality, race discrimination, stop and search by tracey

‘Children are being strip-searched by London’s Metropolitan Police in cases that may not be “properly justified”, a watchdog has found.’

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The Independent, 16th January 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Who gets the children at Christmas? – Family Law

Posted December 20th, 2018 in children, custody, divorce, families, holidays, news by tracey

‘For many families, Christmas is a happy time of year. But for those who may be newly separated, it can be a time of heartbreak. This leads to the very important question – who gets the children at Christmas? Monica Blizzard, a director of KHQ Lawyers and head of the family and relationship law team, looks at the details.’

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Family Law, 19th December 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Leave to remove post-Brexit: appealing an appeal – Family Law

Posted April 9th, 2018 in appeals, brexit, children, custody, EC law, foreign jurisdictions, news by tracey

‘In the recent case of L v F [2017] EWCA Civ 2121 the Court of Appeal reinstated a first instance judgment that refused to grant a mother permission to relocate to Italy with the parties’ child. The case offers a reminder of the approach that the court must take when deciding whether or not to grant an appeal.’

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Family Law, 6th April 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Pets and divorce – who keeps the family pet? – Family Law

Posted December 4th, 2017 in animals, custody, dispute resolution, divorce, news by sally

‘For many couples pets are an integral part of family life. But when relationships break down, it is not uncommon for arguments to arise about who gets to keep the family pet. So how do these disputes get resolved and what are the rules?’

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Family Law, 1st December 2017

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Article 15 transfer requests – what happens next? (FE v MR and Others) – Family Law

Posted November 20th, 2017 in brexit, children, contact orders, custody, divorce, EC law, jurisdiction, news by tracey

‘Family analysis: Analysing a case where the Family Court submitted a ‘highly unusual’ request under Article 15 of Brussels II bis to the Spanish court for it to transfer jurisdiction to the courts of England and Wales, Chris Stevenson, barrister at Fourteen, questions how such cases will be approached in a post-Brexit world.’

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Family Law, 17th November 2017

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Divorcing parents who poison children against their former partner could lose custody – The Independent

Posted November 20th, 2017 in contact orders, custody, divorce, news by tracey

‘Divorcing parents could lose custody or be denied contact with their children if they attempt to poison them against their former partner, under the rules of a new pilot scheme.
The “groundbreaking” initiative, being trialled by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), is designed to tackle the problem officially known as “parental alienation” where one parent turns a child against the other so they do not want to see them.’

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The Independent, 19th November 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Surrogate mother who changed her mind must hand baby to gay couple, court rules – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 20th, 2017 in custody, news, surrogacy by tracey

‘A surrogate mother has lost custody of her child after a court ruled he would be better placed with the gay couple who arranged for her to have the baby.’

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Daily Telegraph, 17th November 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Met Police holding children in custody for too long, says prison watchdog – The Independent

Posted November 9th, 2017 in children, custody, London, news, police, young offenders by tracey

‘Children are being held for too long in police custody once they are charged with an offence, the prison watchdog has warned. A report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary found that too many children in north and north-east London were being kept in cells overnight and even at weekends, despite a statutory duty for authorities to provide them with alternative accommodation.’

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The Independent, 8th November 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Divorce and children – is shared care a right or responsibility? – Family Law

Posted October 9th, 2017 in children, custody, divorce, families, news, parental responsibility, parental rights by sally

‘‘I know my rights’ – With that statement a family lawyer will naturally turn to s 2A of the Children Act 1989 and the presumption of parental involvement.
‘Parents do not have rights, they have responsibilities’ – Arguably one is now considering the court’s overriding objective and paramount consideration as set out in s 1 of the Children Act 1989 which highlights the welfare of any child.’

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Family Law, 5th October 2017

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Family court changes to protect children ‘lifesaving’ – BBC News

Posted October 2nd, 2017 in children, contact orders, custody, domestic violence, family courts, homicide, news by sally

‘New family court guidance to protect children from violent parents during custody disputes is “lifesaving,” domestic violence campaigners say.’

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BBC News, 29th September 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Best Interests and Transfers of Proceedings under Article 15 Brussels II Revised in a Public Law Context – Where are we now? – Family Law Week

Posted August 10th, 2017 in children, custody, EC law, news, Supreme Court, transfer of proceedings, treaties by tracey

‘Maria Wright, PhD Student at the University of Bristol, addresses how courts must now approach Article 15 transfers of public law proceedings in the light of CJEU and Supreme Court judgments.’

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Family Law Week, 9th August 2017

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Judge writes to teenager to explain why he can’t live with his father – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 28th, 2017 in children, custody, judges, news by tracey

‘Judge writes to teenager to explain why he can’t live with his father.’

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Daily Telegraph, 27th July 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

F v L (Child Arrangements Order: Relocation) – WLR Daily

Posted June 15th, 2017 in appeals, children, custody, domestic violence, law reports by sally

F v L (Child Arrangements Order: Relocation)[2017] EWHC 1377 (Fam)

‘The mother, an Italian national, sought a child arrangements order (“CAO”) under section 8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended, in respect of the child, aged five, and permission to relocate with him to Italy, alleging serious domestic abuse by the father. The Italian father opposed the application for relocation and cross-applied for a shared care CAO. Despite the recommendation in the report prepared by the CAFCASS officer that the child’s main carer be his mother and that she should be given permission to relocate to Italy, the trial judge decided not to consider or make any finding in respect of the abuse allegations, refused the mother’s application to relocate and ordered the continuance of the shared care regime. The mother appealed on the grounds, inter alia, that the trial judge had made a fundamental procedural error in failing to resolve the issue of the future care of the child prior to considering the application for relocation and had failed to make findings on the abuse allegations.’

WLR Daily, 9th June 2017

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Parents film children to win custody battles in bitter divorce cases – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 10th, 2017 in children, custody, divorce, evidence, news, video recordings by sally

‘Desperate parents are increasingly resorting to filming or recording their children in an attempt to win custody in bitter divorce cases, lawyers have said.’

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Daily Telegraph, 8th April 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

How is the PLO working? What is its impact on court process and outcome? – Family Law Week

Posted February 22nd, 2017 in adoption, care orders, case management, children, contact orders, custody, expert witnesses, family courts, fostering, guardianship, local government, news, placement orders, reports, social services, statistics, supervision orders by sally

‘The last five years have brought important reforms to care proceedings. The Judiciary made proposals for modernising family justice with a focus on strong judicial leadership, judicial continuity and better case management.2 The Family Justice Review3 recommended that the duration of care proceedings should be limited to 26 weeks, that fewer experts should be instructed in proceedings and there should be more limited scrutiny of the care plan, with the court considering only the plan for permanency (care by the parents(s), placement in the extended family, long-term fostering, or adoption) and not matters such as services for the child and contact arrangements. The Review’s recommendations were enacted in the Children and Families Act 2014, supplemented by new procedural rules (the PLO 2014) and implemented on April 22, 2014. This date also marked the opening of the Family Court, replacing the triple jurisdiction of the Family Proceedings Court, the County Court and the High Court. ‘

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Family Law Week, 17th February 2017

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

‘Conned trying to get my children back’ – BBC News

Posted February 13th, 2017 in custody, family courts, fees, Law Society, McKenzie friends, news by sally

‘Two parents fighting legal battles for custody of their children paid thousands of pounds to a company providing “McKenzie friends” – people with no legal training who assist in court. But they were badly let down.’

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BBC News, 13th February 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Syria couple win legal fight for care of children – BBC News

Posted December 12th, 2016 in children, custody, family courts, judgments, news, proscribed organisations, terrorism by sally

‘A Muslim couple arrested over fears that they were heading to Syria for “extremist activities” have won a court fight for the care of their children.’

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BBC News, 11th December 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Parents fear transgender children will be taken away after court ruling – The Guardian

Posted November 22nd, 2016 in care orders, custody, families, news, transgender persons by sally

‘Parents of transgender children fear their ex-partners will sue them for custody of their children after the high court ruled that a seven-year-old child who identified as transgender should be removed from the care of their mother.’

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The Guardian, 22nd November 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Around half of child prisoners now feel unsafe after large rise – The Independent

Posted November 16th, 2016 in child abuse, custody, news, race discrimination, reports, young offenders by sally

‘The number of children held in youth prisons who feel unsafe has risen significantly in recent years, an official report has warned.’

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The Independent, 15th November 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk