-
Government’s Response to the Family Justice Review The government has now published its response to the Family Justice Review The government, as part of its recommendations, is seeking to improve the enforcement options available where one parent...
-
Please note that our offices will be closing at 1pm on Thursday 22 December 2011, reopening on Wednesday 4 January 2012. If you believe family difficulties or matters may arise over the Christmas period with which you will need legal advice and assistance,...
-
The Family Courts have announced that they will begin strike action on 30 November. The Courts have prioritised urgent custody cases and urgent family cases but other cases may well not be heard or may be postponed. In the event that you have a...
-
The Metro recently reported a case where a woman only known as Marianna (her surname is apparently not contained in Court documents) went on honeymoon with her husband only to find that he had booked an extra room at their romantic Paris hotel for her mother...
-
The Guardian has this month reported that New Start has developed an insurance policy to cover the eventuality of non-payment of maintenance. The policy is designed to insure against non-payment of maintenance if the ex-spouse is made redundant, dies or...
-
The NSPCC, following research into 2,275 children aged 11-17 and 1,761 adults aged 18-24, has found alarming levels of severe abuse or neglect. The NSPCC found that almost one in five 11-17 year olds had been physically attacked by an adult,...
-
The new Family Law Protocol has been announced. From 6 April 2011, anyone in family disputes wanting to make a private law act application (such as for residence or contact) and any party who wishes to apply for ancillary relief (for financial help such as...
-
The government has announced proposals to end the current inequality in the level of men and women’s state pensions. Currently the average woman’s state pension upon retirement is £110.00 compared to a man’s being £160.00....
-
Judgement came today from the European Court of Justice finding it discriminatory for insurance companies to discriminate between the genders when calculating car insurance premiums. From 21st December 2012, insurance companies will no longer be able to...
-
Our facilities to accept credit and debit card payments from clients is now operational. We hope in particular that credit card payments will provide assistance to clients who can then pay their credit card bill when it suits them and will alleviate the...
-
Please note that our offices will be closing at 1pm on 23 December 2010, reopening on Tuesday 4 January 2011. If you believe family difficulties or matters may arise over the Christmas period with which you will need legal advice and assistance, please do...
-
It’s pretty serious most of the time at Townsend Family Law Solicitors as we focus on resolving divorce and family law issues for our clients. But it’s that festive time of year again and we decided to let our hair down at the Royal Chace Hotel...
-
After reading an article in Family Law recently written by Baroness Butler Sloss, I was alarmed and saddened to read that 29% of British children live in poverty. It seems appalling in this day and age that a third of all children in Britain should be...
-
We are shortly introducing facilities to take credit and debit card payments* which will hopefully further assist clients in paying for their legal costs. At present, we accept payment by cheque and cash (subject to our terms and conditions) as well as...
-
Further to our recent blog regarding our pledge to donate to Crisis for all our new client instructions between 8 November and 8 December, we have now made such donations and would like to thank our clients for their instruction which allowed this to happen....
-
Crisis is the national charity for single homeless people. Not only do they help homeless people in transforming their lives but they are also dedicated and committed to preventing homelessness. They provide comprehensive support and services ranging from...
-
As you may be aware, during the summer (14 July to 30 September) we ran a scheme whereby if a new client instructed us on a family law matter, we would donate £20.00 to Cancer Research for each client. This was just us doing our bit for a great cause...
-
10. Plan you communications with your solicitor Of course, a major benefit of having instructed a solicitor is having their advice available on the phone when you need it. It is not always possible to predict when you are going to need to call for...
-
9. Focus the issues If you can hone in on your specific concerns in preparation for your appointment with your solicitor, not only can you ensure that those concerns are covered, but you can limit the time you both spend in that appointment. It may sound...
-
8. Explore the options Talk over the various options with your solicitor. Sometimes representing yourself with your solicitor’s input in the background can work for you. You must be careful to consider all the pros and cons with your solicitor...
-
7. Consider Mediation In cases where mediation is appropriate, it offers an opportunity to talk face to face with the other party and to discuss all issues, whether it be financial, child-related or miscellaneous. The mediator assists both parties in...
-
6. Don't Put It Off! Don’t put off until tomorrow, or next month, what would be better done today. You do need to ensure that you do things at a time that is right for you and your family, but it is important not to procrastinate to the point of...
-
5. Don’t involve the kids Your children’s welfare is paramount, and your actions and decisions should always be taken in light of this. There are obvious and crucial benefits of ensuring that your children know that mum and dad are sorting...
-
4. Get talking – to your spouse This does come with a health warning. It has to depend on your circumstances, as sometimes this is not at all appropriate. But if appropriate, this can help you both work out what your differences are, and to what...
-
3. When giving your solicitor documentation, ensure it is all in order and that there is nothing missing In many cases, it is necessary to provide documentation to your solicitor. Whether it be in relation to a children matter, whether it is mediation...
