An undertaking is a promise to the Court that you will, or will not, do something. Undertakings are useful to use when the Court cannot order that you take a certain action. For example, the Court cannot order the mortgage company to release your Husband or Wife from the mortgage. You can give a promise to do everything you can to release the other party from the mortgage and, until recently, it was thought that this was a pretty safe way of ensuring that the Wife could stay in the property, paying the mortgage, and the Husband would be discharged from those obligations. This is especially important if being named on one mortgage will stop him being named on another and buying his own property in the future.
A new-look divorce petition was unveiled this week, which will take effect from 7th August and be the only version used as of 4th September. The electronic version will not be available on Gov.Uk until 7th August and, therefore, any attempts to submit a petition using the new version before that date will be rejected by the Courts.
The revised petition is obviously designed to ensure a smooth transition to the online divorce process, but it will also provide litigants with a much clearer and plainly worded document.
Summer holidays. We all look forward to them.
For children they represent a not insignificant portion of their entire lifespan thus far, they have an air of boundlessness, of time spent timelessly, free from the confines of the classroom, a time for new experiences, for wonder.
Family holidays… it’s a time to look forward to sun, sea and sand. Probably the last thing on your mind when planning a holiday is whether your ex partner agrees to you taking the children abroad. But, if they don’t, you could get more than you bargained for at the airport when attempting to get through passport control.
When taking children on holiday abroad, all parties who have Parental Responsibility for the child need to consent to the child being taken out of the country. This is the case unless you have a Residence Order (now called a Child Arrangements Order) that the child lives with you. In those circumstances, you can take the child abroad for up to 4 weeks without the consent of the other parent.
There is still considerable discord between contemporary British reality and the law in England and Wales regarding the rights of cohabitees.
Recently, there were some encouraging signs that MPs may have been about to give renewed consideration to the possibility of reform, with the Family Justice Bill on the agenda for consideration in parliament. It appeared to be enjoying cross-party support, but due to the calling of the snap general election, the Bill ran out of time.
Read more: Cohabitation agreements should be part of the fabric of family law
